La Vida Loca
by forensicsfan
Summary: COMPLETE There are moments in life that serve as a catalyst to change direction, this was one for Sara. (Sort of a post-ep for Homebodies) SN?
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own them, didn't create them, don't profit from them, etc.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sara wasn't sure why she ended up there specifically, she just knew she needed a friend and he was the first one that came to mind. In fact he was the only one she thought wouldn't think her strange to show up at his house at one-thirty in the morning on his only night off in two weeks. Still, she was having difficulty moving herself out of the Denali. Finally, she took a deep breath and walked toward his front door, knocking soundly and hoping that she wasn't waking him up.  
  
Surprisingly, Nick answered the door rather quickly, and as Sara took in his demeanor, the wine glass in his hand, and the music filtering in from the living room, she could tell he had company.  
  
Nick's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Sara."  
  
"Hey, Nick." Suddenly, she was at a loss. She didn't really know why she was there in the first place and now she felt like she was an unwanted guest.  
  
Nick saw the change in her expression and his own softened with concern. "Hey, are you ok?" He reached out and touched her shoulder.  
  
Sara started to back pedal. "Uh, it looks like you've got company. I'll just talk to you later." She started to turn to leave, but Nick gently grabbed her arm. She turned her head and caught his eye.  
  
"Come in for a little while." He knew she wouldn't have shown up on his doorstep in the middle of the night unless she had a good reason, and he was not about to let her leave until he knew that she was ok.  
  
Reluctantly, Sara acquiesced and followed him inside.  
  
"Do you want some wine?" Nick asked her as he gestured toward the living room.  
  
"Uh, sure." Numbly, she nodded, and then began to question whether she really should have stopped by at all as she glanced over and noticed for the first time a young woman, probably about the same age as Nick, sitting there sipping a glass of wine. She was obviously interrupting a date. The woman smiled at Sara, she seemed somehow familiar and yet Sara was sure that they had never met.  
  
As Nick returned to the living room with another wine glass in hand, the woman winked at Nick and then smiled at Sara. "Nick seems to have forgotten his manners." She had a distinctive drawl and Sara surmised that she was from Texas.  
  
Nick chuckled and then looked at the woman apologetically. "Sorry, Chels." Nick poured Sara a glass of wine and as he handed it to her, he smiled at her and gestured toward the woman on the couch. "Sara, this is my nosey older sister, Chelsea."  
  
For some reason, relief washed over Sara and she felt herself relaxing. A soft smile began to spread across her face.  
  
Nick continued as he looked at his sister and pulled Sara along with him as he sat down next to his sister on the couch. "Chels, this is my friend Sara Sidle. We work together."  
  
An amused smile played at Chelsea's lips as she shook Sara's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Sara."  
  
"Likewise." Sara could see the resemblance between Chelsea and Nick; they had the same coloring, the same strong jaw line, the same distinctive drawl, and the same mannerisms.  
  
Nick took a sip from his wine and then furrowed his brow, glancing over at Sara. "Speaking of work, why aren't you there?"  
  
Sara's face clouded and she could feel tears threatening to spill out of the corners of her eyes. She silently pleaded with Nick to not press her further at the moment. "I took the rest of the night off."  
  
Nick knew that there was no way that Sara would just simply take the rest of the night off without either being sent home or being completely traumatized by a case. He had sense enough to know that Sara wouldn't want to talk about it in front of his sister. He smiled at her, his eyes searching her face for clues about what was going on. "Well I'm glad you stopped by."  
  
Sara took a sip from the wine and savored the taste. She felt a sense of gratitude that Nick had let the subject drop there for the time being. She looked over at Chelsea and smiled. "So, how long are you in Vegas for?"  
  
Chelsea smiled, she liked Sara immediately. "I'm actually heading back to Dallas in the morning, I was just in town for a convention, but I had to squeeze in some time with Nick."  
  
"What kind of convention?" Sara inquired. Nick talked more about his nieces and nephews than the rest of his family.  
  
"Law. Like most of the family, I'm a lawyer." She smiled at Nick and reached over and ruffed his hair. "Only Nick here decided that investigating was more fun."  
  
Nick grinned at her. "At least I don't have to wear a suit everyday."  
  
Sara laughed and raised an eyebrow at him. "So that's why you became a CSI, it's really a fashion issue for you."  
  
Nick looked over at Sara and grinned. "Who really wants to wear a tie?"  
  
"And all this time I thought you liked nailing the bad guys." Sara teased.  
  
Chelsea observed the banter and wondered to herself just how good of friends Nick and Sara were. She knew that Nick hadn't dated anyone in a while and her feminine intuition was telling her that the reason was sitting on the other end of the couch. She set her wine glass down on the coffee table and yawned. "I hate to be a party pooper, but I need to get some sleep; my flight leaves pretty early."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I feel badly for interrupting your visit." Sara did feel bad, but she was also glad that she had finally gotten to meet a member of Nick's family, even if it was brief.  
  
Chelsea reached over Nick and patted Sara on the knee. "Sara, you weren't interrupting anything. I'm glad I got to finally meet you."  
  
The word 'finally' hung in the air and Sara glanced at Nick out of the corner of her eye and noticed a slight change in his expression. From the way Chelsea had said the word, it made Sara think that perhaps she'd been the topic of more than one conversation.  
  
Nick stood up as Chelsea did and hugged her. "Now, I'm taking you to the airport, so don't even think about calling one of those shuttle services. If I'm not up, just wake me up."  
  
Chelsea started to laugh and pulled out of Nick's hug. She glanced up at him with a mischievous grin on her face. "Wake you up, now that's funny." She looked over at Sara and chuckled. "Nick's almost impossible to wake up; at least without a little help."  
  
Sara smirked at Nick who looked somewhat embarrassed. "I may just have to get your sister's number so I can get some dirt on you."  
  
Nick glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow. "You just try that, Sidle, she won't talk, I've got dirt on her that my parents still don't know about." He turned toward Chelsea and flashed her a lopsided grin.  
  
Chelsea's eyebrows shot up. "You wouldn't dare. I may be an adult, but they'd still kill me if they found out about that."  
  
Nick glance over at Sara with a smug expression. "See, what did I tell you?"  
  
Sara simply smirked at him.  
  
Chelsea lightly smacked Nick on the arm grinning. "Hey, I'm going to turn in, see you in the morning."  
  
Nick pulled her back into a bear hug. "Love you, Chels. Sleep well."  
  
"I love you too, Nick." She kissed him on the cheek and then glanced over at Sara. "Nice to meet you, Sara." She smiled at her before heading down the hall towards Nick's spare bedroom.  
  
Sara lifted her hand at Chelsea. "Good night." She still felt like she was intruding and she stood up as Nick turned back towards her. "Uh, I should go."  
  
Nick looked at her curiously. "Why?"  
  
"I interrupted your visit with your sister." Sara replied.  
  
Nick shook his head. "You didn't interrupt." He gestured toward the couch. "Sit, let's finish the wine." They both still had half a glass left.  
  
They sat back on the couch and Nick glanced at Sara as she took a sip from the glass and closed her eyes, savoring the taste. She smiled as she set the glass back on the coffee table. "That is really good wine."  
  
Nick studied her for a moment before cutting to the chase. "So why aren't you at work?"  
  
She looked at him and a myriad of emotions crossed her face. "It's a long story, Nick."  
  
Nick reached over and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "Hey, I'm a good listener and I've got nothing but time." 


	2. Chapter 2

Sara took a deep breath and another sip of her wine before she turned toward Nick. "I left the scene. I just walked under the tape, got in the Denali, and drove away. I'm sure Grissom is still there processing. He probably hasn't even noticed that I'm gone."  
  
Nick looked at her incredulously. Sara Sidle leaving a crime scene was unheard of. "What's going on, Sar?" He used the nickname he'd given her shortly after he'd met her to try and put her at ease.  
  
She met his gaze and let out a wry laugh. "I know, me leave a scene; unbelievable, huh? You must think that I'm crazy."  
  
Nick shook his head, concern furrowed his brow. "You're not crazy, Sara, I think maybe you hit your limit."  
  
She nodded and took another sip from the wine; the images of that young girl lying there in front of her home in a pool of her own blood haunting her thoughts. There was a hitch in her voice as she continued. "She was so young, Nick, you saw her."  
  
Nick cast a questioning look her direction.  
  
"If she could have identified the man who raped her, he might be behind bars and she might still be alive." It was clear to Sara now why she'd come to see Nick. She knew deep down that the murder of this young girl would affect him almost as much as it affected her. He had been with her when they had responded to the initial call. It was he who had provided the connection between the crime they were sent to investigate and the crime Grissom was working. When it became apparent that the two crimes were connected, she had worked with Grissom and Warrick, and Nick had worked another case with Catherine before he'd gotten this night off. The tears that had begun at the crime scene began to stream down her face again.  
  
Nick didn't recall having ever seen Sara cry before. "Sara, what happened?" He was trying to put the pieces together about the case, but more than that, he was concerned about her.  
  
Sara met his gaze, tears still flowing, and continued. "She was too scared to write down a number; a stupid number in the lineup. You could see it on her face, she was so terrified. It was obvious that he was the attacker, but we couldn't hold him and he walked."  
  
The color drained out of Nick's face as the realization of who she was talking about sunk in. He remember the young girl, he remembered Sara telling him how she'd climbed into the back of her Denali and asked to be taken to the hospital to get a 'morning after' pill because she'd been raped. "Oh, Sara." There was a hitch in his voice.  
  
Sara reached up and wiped the tears from her face with her fingertips. "They shot her in front of her own house. Her parents found her in a pool of her own blood."  
  
Nick's expression was stoic.  
  
"We follow the evidence and it doesn't give us enough. We should have been able to hold him. You should have seen her, Nick. If she could have just written a number on a piece of paper, she'd still be alive." Sara didn't need Grissom-like explanations right now, she needed a friend, a shoulder to cry on, and that's why she'd come to Nick.  
  
"Hey." Nick pulled her into a hug as Sara began to sob. "I don't know, Sara. Sometimes the system sucks. It's supposed to protect people and this time it screwed up."  
  
Nick knew how a case could get to you. He'd been affected by some more than others. He'd seen Sara get angry before, he'd seen her get physically sick working a case, but he'd never seen her cry. Not that he doubted that she had, but he figured it was in the privacy of her own home. Sara was not a person that easily confided in other people, but they had become good friends after working together for over three years. She had shown him that she trusted him, and she'd confided in him more and more, especially over the last couple of months.  
  
He held her for a while and she just clung to him.  
  
Her sobs tapered off and she just let him hold her, she needed comfort and she needed to feel secure and she felt that with Nick. As she rested her head against his shoulder, she whispered. "Don't tell anyone."  
  
A smile played at Nick's mouth. Sara never wanted anyone to know that she was human, that things affected her, but for some reason, she always told Nick. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."  
  
She sniffled. "I hope Grissom doesn't call, I don't want to go back out there tonight. I just don't think I can handle it."  
  
Her admission caused Nick to hug her a little tighter. "You don't have to go anywhere."  
  
They sat there like that for a long time; Sara finally falling asleep, drained emotionally and physically from crying and from the case itself. Nick watched her sleep for a while, not daring to move lest she wake up, until he too fell asleep.  
  
And that's how Chelsea found them. Nick's head rested against the back of the couch, his arms wrapped around Sara, while his feet had slid under the coffee table. Sara's head still rested against Nick's shoulder her hands were against his chest, and her legs were tucked up underneath her on the couch. Chelsea smiled. Her intuition had been right on it seemed. Whether he would admit it or not, she suspected that Nick was in love with Sara, and from their proximity and from the fact that she'd show up on his doorstep in the middle of the night, Chelsea was betting that Sara had similar feelings for Nick.  
  
Chelsea reached over and ruffled Nick's hair. "Hey, little brother, wake up."  
  
Nick stirred slightly, tightening his grip on Sara and mumbled in response. "Five more minutes."  
  
Chelsea grinned mussing his hair again. "Nick, wake up."  
  
"Not time yet." Nick mumbled again.  
  
Sara began to stir, her eyes fluttering open. She felt disoriented for a moment and then the events of the previous night began to filter into her consciousness.  
  
"Morning, Sara." Chelsea's voice was cheery.  
  
Sara blinked at her, taking a minute to get her bearings, and then feeling slightly embarrassed at being found asleep in Nick's arms. "Hey, Chelsea."  
  
Chelsea had a mischievous glint in her eye. "Want to help wake Nick up?"  
  
Sara smiled softly. "What did you have in mind?"  
  
"Well, I could give you a little dirt on Nicky here. I remember one time when he was in high school, there was this girl, a cheerleader." Chelsea moved her head closer and closer to Nick's ear to make sure he heard every word she said. "She had a little thing for Nick here and after one particular football game, she wanted to show her appreciation for him running in the winning touchdown, so she walked in on him in the showers in the locker room and well, let's just say that when the coach walked in a little bit later, he saw quite a bit more than he bargained for."  
  
Nick's eyes opened. "I'm up. No more stories, Chels."  
  
Sara started to laugh then stopped, locking eyes with Nick for a moment as they both realized their proximity. They smiled at each other, and then Sara pushed away from Nick and sat upright.  
  
Chelsea noticed the slight awkwardness of the situation and decided not to say anything about it, at least for the moment. "Well, Sara, we'll have to chat another time. I've got plenty of stories I could tell you about Nick. Unfortunately, I need to catch a plane."  
  
Sara grinned, glancing over at Nick who was running his fingers through his hair. "I could just give you my phone number; just in case you feel the need to share."  
  
"That's a great idea." Chelsea smirked at Nick who was shaking his head.  
  
Nick looked over at Sara. "And you wonder why no one ever meets my family."  
  
Sara tried to swallow her smile. "So far I like your family."  
  
"You'd fit right in." Chelsea commented.  
  
Nick and Sara both stopped talking. Nick got up from the couch and smiled at Chelsea. "What time is your flight, Chels?"  
  
Chelsea feigned an innocent expression. "Now, Nick, don't we have time for breakfast?"  
  
Nick grinned at her. "I wonder if Mom and Dad are up yet."  
  
Her eyebrows shot up. "Ok, no more stories, but breakfast is my treat, but only if Sara comes too."  
  
Nick glanced over at Sara who was watching the sibling interaction with interest and amusement. "What do you say? Want to come to the airport?"  
  
Sara smiled. "Sure, who knows what else I might learn." 


	3. Chapter 3

While they ate breakfast at a diner near the airport, Chelsea studied Nick and Sara. There was something about the way they interacted that made her smile. She was sure that if the two of them were to spend some quality time together outside of work they might see what she saw. A plan formed in her mind. "So, Nick, when are you coming to Dallas for another visit? You know Mom and Dad would love to see you, and Grandma Rose isn't getting any younger."  
  
Nick grinned at his sister. "I'm lucky to get a night off now and then. I probably won't be able to get back until sometime later in the spring." He knew that he didn't get back to Dallas often enough to suit his family.  
  
Sara elbowed him and smirked. "Nick, you've got plenty of vacation banked. You should use some."  
  
He looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. "You're one to talk, Sara; you've got more vacation banked than I do."  
  
"Well, I'm not the one with the huge family." She replied.  
  
"When was the last time you visited your parents?" Nick asked her.  
  
"Nick, my parents don't have time to visit when I go up there, their bed and breakfast is a 24-hour a day job to run. When they want to see me, they come here. That's the only time they get a vacation." Sara defended.  
  
"Oh." Nick looked a little sheepish and took a bite of his omelet.  
  
Sara tried not to laugh at him.  
  
"Well if you both have so much time off saved up, you should both come to Dallas." Chelsea popped another mouthful of her waffle in her mouth to cover up the grin that spread across her face as Nick started to cough.  
  
Sara suddenly became very interested in her blueberry pancakes.  
  
Nick stopped coughing and looked at Chelsea while trying to swallow a grin. "What makes you think Sara would want to come to Dallas with me?" He raised an eyebrow at her in challenge.  
  
Chelsea raised one in response. "What makes you think she wouldn't? Have you ever asked her?"  
  
Sara cleared her throat somewhat amused at the banter between Nick and his sister. "You know, I am sitting right here."  
  
They both looked over at her and Nick flashed her an apologetic grin. "Sorry."  
  
"Well?" Chelsea pressed him gesturing toward Sara.  
  
Nick chuckled and turned toward Sara. "She's not going to stop this until I ask you if you want to come with me to Dallas the next time I go."  
  
"Was that a question, Nick, because I didn't hear one in there, that sounded more like an explanation?" Chelsea continued, taking another bite of her waffle.  
  
Nick gestured toward Chelsea as he continued talking to Sara. "See what I mean? Do you understand why no one at work has met my family?"  
  
"Not really." Sara replied with a smirk. "I think your sister's nice."  
  
"If you don't ask her, Nick, I will." Chelsea grinned at Sara.  
  
Nick glanced at Chelsea for a moment and then back at Sara. "You don't want to come to Dallas do you?"  
  
Sara looked somewhat amused. "Do you want me to?"  
  
Nick raised a curious eyebrow. "Do you want to?"  
  
"Not if you don't want me to." Sara popped another bite of blueberry pancake into her mouth.  
  
"Why wouldn't I want you to?" Nick took a bite from his omelet.  
  
She smirked. "I don't know; why wouldn't you?"  
  
"I want you to." Nick insisted.  
  
Sara tried to swallow her smile. "Ok, I'll come."  
  
Neither one of them were aware of the amusement clearly present on Chelsea's face. She just continued to eat her waffle as she watched the pair.  
  
Sara glanced over at Nick again. "When?"  
  
"Huh?" Nick stopped his fork midway to his mouth.  
  
She chuckled. "When do you want me to come to Dallas with you?"  
  
He grinned. "I don't know, I guess we'll have to talk to Grissom about getting time off."  
  
"Ok." Sara turned her attention back to her blueberry pancakes and noticed the expression on Chelsea's face. She wasn't sure if she'd just been set up, but she didn't really mind. Nick was a good friend and she really would like to get to know him better and what better way to do that than meet his entire family?  
  
Nick glanced over at his sister and suddenly realized that he'd played right into her little plan. Chelsea had an innocent smile on her face as she winked at Nick. He made a mental note to warn Sara about what she'd just gotten herself into. Meeting Chelsea in Vegas was one thing, but meeting the entire Stokes clan in Dallas was entirely another. Nick was certain that Sara really had no idea what she'd just gotten herself into, and as an only child, she couldn't possibly know the inner workings of a siblings mind when all they wanted to do was marry you off.  
  
Nick glanced at his watch and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "We should get going. It's going to take you a while to get through security at the airport."  
  
Nick insisted on paying the bill, despite a protest from Chelsea that it was supposed to be her treat before the trio made their way out to Nick's Denali. Chelsea insisted that Sara sit in the front seat since they were just dropping her off at the curb. "Well, Sara, when you come, I'll have to make sure you see Nick's baby book, oh, and his yearbooks."  
  
"Chels, don't push your luck. I've got more dirt on you than even you know I have." Nick had a warning tone in his voice despite the smile on his face.  
  
Chelsea patted him on the shoulder and kept talking to Sara who couldn't help but chuckle. "I've got more on him than he realizes."  
  
Nick glanced at her in the rearview mirror. "What?"  
  
Chelsea sat back it the seat and smiled. "If I told you, I couldn't save it to blackmail you with later."  
  
They pulled up to the curb at the entrance to the airport and Nick got out and unloaded Chelsea's luggage before giving her a bear hug and a kiss. They waved goodbye and then Nick climbed back into the Denali.  
  
Sara smirked at Nick. "I like your sister. You should have her visit more often."  
  
Nick started laughing as he pulled away from the curb. 


	4. Chapter 4

Nick glanced over at Sara as they drove back to his house after dropping Chelsea off at the airport. He was still concerned about her after last night and how upset she'd been about the case. "How are you doing this morning?"  
  
A soft smile spread across Sara's face as she looked over at him. "I'm ok." She didn't sound as convincing as she looked.  
  
"What are you going to tell Grissom?" He knew that she was going to have to explain why she'd left the crime scene.  
  
Sara's brow furrowed. "I'm not sure."  
  
Nick contemplated his words very carefully. "Sara, have you ever considered taking a leave of absence?" He hoped that she understood the intent behind his words.  
  
Sara wasn't sure how to respond, she fumbled with her words for a moment. "Why would I do that?"  
  
Nick's face was set in a serious expression as he glanced over at her. "I've never seen you cry."  
  
Sara let out a deep breath and glanced out the window of the Denali. "Do you think I'm going crazy?"  
  
Nick smiled. "Sara, you're not going crazy." He let out a deep breath before continuing. "I do think though that you're on the verge of burning out. Take some time off. Relax."  
  
She glanced over at him. "And do what?"  
  
He grinned. "Well for starters, you can come with me to Dallas or Chelsea will never let me hear the end of it. You can see just how crazy my family is and then maybe we can head down to the Gulf Coast for a few days."  
  
"How long are you planning to take off?" Sara asked him curiously.  
  
He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it just depends on how much time Grissom will approve."  
  
"He's going to read me the riot act for leaving the scene." Sara stared out the window.  
  
Nick considered her words for a moment. "I don't think so, Sara. I think if you explain it to him, he'll understand. You and I both know that Grissom would rather you turn the scene over to someone else if you feel that you might compromise the scene."  
  
She shot him an accusing look. "You think I'd compromise the scene?"  
  
Nick smiled softly and shook his head. "I didn't say that. But you obviously weren't in a frame of mind to be able to work it last night either, and I think he'll understand that."  
  
"I hope you're right. The last thing I need is to be put on suspension." Sara looked worried.  
  
"I doubt he'll suspend you, he'll probably think the idea of you taking time off is a good idea." Nick tried to reassure her.  
  
Sara pursed her lips and turned toward Nick. "How are we going to get him to let both of us have time off at the same time?"  
  
Nick grinned. "We just ask."  
  
Sara raised a doubtful eyebrow. "We ask."  
  
"You never know until you ask." Nick continued to grin.  
  
"You sound like Chelsea." Sara chuckled.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Grissom." Sara stood in the doorway of the nightshift supervisor's office.  
  
Grissom looked at her over the rim of his glasses. "Sara. Come in. I need to talk to you."  
  
Sara sat down in the chair in front of his desk. She knew that leaving the crime scene without telling anyone where she was going last night was breaking protocol. Grissom would be well within his rights to reprimand her or write her up.  
  
Grissom studied her for a moment. He detected fatigue in the young woman sitting across from him and truth be told, he was worried about her. He knew the death of that young girl had really upset her. When she'd left the crime scene, he had expected that she would be back at the lab after he'd returned. When he returned she wasn't there and no one had seen her. He was worried. "Sara, about last night."  
  
Sara interrupted. "Grissom, I think I need to take some time off."  
  
Grissom was taken aback. He was prepared to suggest that she take a few days off, he wasn't prepared that she would suggest it herself. He nodded to her, knowing from the expression on her face that she had more to say.  
  
"I'm sorry I left the scene last night. I know that wasn't very professional, I guess I just got too emotionally involved with the case and I couldn't handle it." She took a deep breath and continued. "I should have said something."  
  
Grissom shook his head and looked her in the eye. "No, Sara, I knew this case was getting to you. I should have said something. None of us expected that kind of outcome." He looked a bit remorseful. He had a great deal of admiration for how Sara did her job; sometimes he forgot that she was a person with feelings.  
  
Sara just nodded.  
  
Nick paused in the doorway and knocked softly.  
  
Grissom glanced up at him. "Nick."  
  
"Hey, Gris." Nick acknowledged his boss and then glanced at Sara. "Did you tell him?"  
  
"That's what I'm doing right now." She replied.  
  
"Should I come back?" Nick looked at her quizzically.  
  
She shook her head.  
  
Grissom glanced at Nick and then back at Sara curiously.  
  
Sara turned her attention back to Grissom, and Nick stepped into the office as she continued talking. "Grissom, when I left last night I went over and talked to Nick."  
  
Grissom glanced up at Nick and then back at Sara. He was glad Sara had talked to someone and if his suspicions were correct, Nick had been the one to talk her in to taking time off.  
  
"He suggested that I take some time off." Sara continued.  
  
"I think it's a good idea." Grissom interjected.  
  
"I also suggested that she take a vacation." Nick added.  
  
"Nick invited me to come to Dallas." Sara explained.  
  
Grissom raised an eyebrow at Nick. "Dallas."  
  
"It's kind of a long story, but I invited Sara to come with me to Dallas, which means I need to take some time off too." Nick concluded.  
  
Grissom looked a little confused. He glanced from Sara to Nick and back again. "Are you two dating?"  
  
"No." Sara replied quickly.  
  
"It's not like that." Nick didn't want Grissom to get the wrong idea.  
  
Grissom studied the pair for a moment. "How much time did you want to take off?"  
  
Nick answered for both of them. "Two weeks."  
  
Sara glanced at him a little surprised that he'd ask for that much time.  
  
Grissom let out a deep sigh and removed his glasses. "I'll see if I can get a couple of people from days to cover."  
  
Nick glanced at Sara and smiled. 


	5. Chapter 5

"What's going on with you and Sara?" Warrick looked at Nick curiously as they stowed their gear into their lockers after returning from a crime scene.  
  
"What do you mean?" Nick replied a bit perplexed.  
  
Warrick tried to restrain his smile. "I heard she's going to Dallas with you."  
  
Nick shrugged his shoulders. "So? We're friends; I asked her if she wanted to come."  
  
"Uh, huh." Warrick sounded doubtful.  
  
Nick chuckled. "What? You think I've got a thing for Sara? C'mon, man, we're just friends."  
  
"Yeah, well you and I are friends and I don't see you inviting me to Texas." Warrick quipped.  
  
"Sara needs a vacation." Nick explained.  
  
"So you invited her home to meet the family." Warrick stated doubtfully.  
  
Nick tried to keep his smile in check. "It was my sister's idea, but I think it'll be fun."  
  
Warrick raised an eyebrow. "Your sister? Since when have you ever introduced any of us to your family?"  
  
"You've met Chelsea." Nick protested.  
  
Warrick chuckled. "Only because she stopped by the lab the last time she was here; and from what you've told me, Sara could find herself in a very interesting situation when she meets the rest of your sisters."  
  
"I warned her that some of them might get the wrong idea." Nick defended. "Besides, she's already met Chelsea."  
  
"The wrong idea." Warrick continued to chuckle. "Nick, from your description, your sisters will make it their mission to get the two of you married off before you come back to Vegas."  
  
"We're only going to be gone two weeks." Nick challenged. "Besides, Sara and I are just friends."  
  
"Whatever you say, man." Warrick was clearly amused at how defensive Nick was being about Sara. He had his suspicions that his friend had more than just friendly feelings for their coworker and he silently wondered how much Nick had actually told Sara about what to expect from his family.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Greg Sanders was working on finishing up a series of DNA samples that Sara had left with him. He knew that she was anxious about knowing the results, something that was emphasized by the fact she kept checking with him every five minutes.  
  
"Greg, do you have those samples processed yet." Sara furrowed her brow as she walked back into the DNA lab.  
  
"Sara, I told you I'd page you." Greg answered with a smile.  
  
"I'll wait." She leaned up against the lab counter.  
  
Greg glanced at her. "So, I hear you're going to Dallas with Nick."  
  
"Yeah, I need a little vacation." Sara replied, anxiously looking at the printer.  
  
"So, you'll probably meet his whole family." Greg continued.  
  
Sara rolled her eyes. "We're staying with them; I would assume I'm going to meet them."  
  
"So, is there some kind of little love connection going on between you and my man Nick?" Greg probed.  
  
Sara raised an eyebrow at him. "Love connection?"  
  
"You know, going home to meet the family." Greg continued to press.  
  
She chuckled. "Greg, Nick and I are just friends. We're going on vacation for a couple of weeks. What's the big deal?"  
  
Greg tried not to smile. "Oh, nothing, I was just curious."  
  
Sara smirked. "Well, maybe if you were less curious, I'd have my results by now."  
  
Greg laughed. "They're just printing out now."  
  
"Thanks, Greg." Sara grinned and grabbed the results off of the printer, turning and heading down the hallway in search of Catherine.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"So what's going on with Nick and Sara?" Catherine queried Warrick as they waited for the coffee machine to brew a fresh pot.  
  
Warrick chuckled. "Nick claims that they're just friends."  
  
"Uh, huh." Catherine intoned unconvinced. "So that's why he's bringing her home to meet the family."  
  
"And from the way Nick's described his sisters, I'm not sure Sara knows what she's really getting herself into." Warrick quipped.  
  
Catherine raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"  
  
Warrick laughed. "I have a feeling that the minute they meet Sara, they're going to try and marry her and Nick off."  
  
"So, you think that there's more going on between them than either one of them is letting on." Catherine clarified.  
  
"I think that they're both in denial. It'll be interesting to see what they say when they get back from Texas." Warrick explained.  
  
Just then, Sara stopped in the doorway of the break room, completely oblivious to the conversation that Warrick and Catherine were having. "Catherine, I've got the results."  
  
Catherine glanced up. "Anything conclusive?"  
  
Sara nodded with a smile on her face. "He's our guy."  
  
"I'll call Brass." Catherine replied.  
  
"Already did. He's sending a uniform over to pick him up and said he'd call us as soon as they're on their way to PD." Sara looked satisfied but fatigued.  
  
"I guess we'll just wait then." Catherine gestured toward the coffee machine. "There's a fresh pot here, want some?"  
  
Sara nodded her head. "Yeah." She walked over and accepted a cup from Warrick who had already poured both him and Catherine a cup. "Thanks."  
  
Warrick glanced at Catherine for a moment before turning his attention back to Sara. "So, Sara, when are you and Nick heading to Dallas?"  
  
Sara glanced up. "Uh, day after tomorrow."  
  
"Meeting the whole family, huh?" Catherine added.  
  
Sara looked over at her and smirked. "Look, you guys, Nick and I are just friends. Why is everyone trying to make bigger deal out of this than it is?"  
  
Catherine raised a hand in surrender. "Just making conversation." She smiled at Sara. "I hope you have a great vacation."  
  
Sara's expression softened. "Thanks, Cath. I'm looking forward to it."  
  
Warrick and Catherine exchanged a knowing look behind Sara's back and smiled. 


	6. Chapter 6

Nick and Sara were aboard Delta Flight 1532 nonstop from Las Vegas to Dallas. Sara fidgeted in her seat trying to get comfortable during the two hour and forty-one minute flight.  
  
Nick glanced over at her and smiled. "You're sure you're ok with this?"  
  
Sara raised an eyebrow and responded dryly. "It's a little late for that now, don't you think?" They were already a half hour into the flight.  
  
Nick grinned. "You'll have fun. I'm sure my family will like you."  
  
"It's not your family that I'm worried about. I'm just not a huge fan of flying in large commercial aircraft." Sara tightened her seatbelt.  
  
Nick looked at her a bit surprised. He leaned over and whispered. "But I thought you were a member of the mile-high club."  
  
She smirked at him. "I needed something to keep my mind off of the fact that I was 35,000 feet higher than I wanted to be hurtling through the air at 500 miles an hour the entire length of the country."  
  
"You know, technically, that's illegal." Nick teased.  
  
"You're funny." Sara's tone was dry, but she was smiling.  
  
"I try." Nick chuckled.  
  
Sara let out a few deep breathes, closing her eyes, trying to ease her nerves.  
  
"Maybe if you had a drink that would help." Nick suggested.  
  
Sara opened her eyes and glanced over at him. "Oh, I'm sure that would go over well, just liquor me up before I meet your family."  
  
Nick raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say you had to get drunk."  
  
Sara smirked. "I don't drink much, Nick. At a higher altitude, it wouldn't take much to get me drunk. I'd rather be sober when I meet your family full of lawyers."  
  
Nick laughed. "They're not all lawyers."  
  
Sara rested her elbows on the armrests. "Well, what do they do then? From what Chelsea said, it sounded like everyone but you was a lawyer."  
  
Nick smiled. "My mom is a public defender and my dad is a district attorney, so the idea of going into law was sort of planted in all of us. Michael decided to go to medical school, and now he's got a family practice in Arlington. Amy wanted to be a judge, but when she found out she'd have to be a lawyer first, she became a teacher and married Richard who eventually became a prosecuting attorney."  
  
"That must make for interesting conversation around the table at Thanksgiving with your mom being a public defender." Sara observed.  
  
Nick chuckled. "They have their moments."  
  
"So what about the rest of them?" Sara encouraged.  
  
"Megan went to law school and was waiting to take the bar exam when my brother Michael's wife Susan introduced her brother Will to Megan. They dated exactly three weeks before they ran off to Vegas and eloped." Nick sounded a bit amused.  
  
Sara's jaw dropped and she started to laugh. "Three weeks."  
  
Nick just nodded. "They've been married for about almost fourteen years. Megan never did take the bar exam, she got pregnant a few months after they got married and she decided to stay home with the kids since Will made enough in his law practice to support them."  
  
"Wow. Fourteen years." Sara couldn't imagine being married let alone for fourteen years.  
  
"My parents have been married for forty-seven years." Nick commented with a grin.  
  
Sara just smiled. "Ok, what about the rest of your family, don't you have a few more sisters? What do they do?"  
  
Nick chuckled. "Well, Andrea really threw my parents for a loop. When she graduated, instead of going to college, she joined the army. When she got out, she met her husband Ryan who was going to law school."  
  
"Another lawyer." Sara grinned.  
  
Nick nodded. "Ryan went into practice with Will, so Andrea and Megan spend a lot of their free time together, of course the fact that their kids are all about the same age helps I think."  
  
"How many kids do they have?" Sara queried.  
  
"Well, Megan and Will have four boys and Andrea and Ryan have two boys and a girl. Amy and Richard have two girls, they're twins, and one boy. Michael and Susan have one boy and two girls and one more on the way. Grace and Daniel have two girls and Chelsea and her husband Kevin have two boys and a girl." Nick concluded.  
  
"Grace? What does Grace do?" Sara asked curiously.  
  
"Grace writes children's books. She started it as a hobby, but someone suggested that she try and get one published and now she's published several. She met Daniel when she was doing a book signing and he ended up asking her on a date. And wouldn't you know it, he's a lawyer too. They've been married for about ten years. Of course you know that Chelsea is an attorney. She's on retainer with a few consulting firms in Dallas so she can spend more time with her kids. Kevin works in the front office of the Cowboys as a contracts attorney." Nick raised an eyebrow in amusement at Sara. She looked as if she was trying to commit what he was telling her to memory.  
  
Sara glanced at him. "What?"  
  
Nick tried to restrain a chuckle. "You don't have to remember all of this you know. They aren't going to hold it against you. Besides, when you start meeting all of their kids, it's going to be a lost cause anyway."  
  
Panic flashed over Sara's face. "I'm an only child."  
  
Nick couldn't help but laugh. He reached over and patted her arm. "Sara, it'll be fine. If you feel overwhelmed, we'll just go out and do something. Besides, I'm sure Chelsea and the rest of them will thoroughly enjoy telling you stories about me."  
  
Sara smirked. "I knew there was a reason why I came to Dallas."  
  
Nick raised an eyebrow. "Just remember, whatever you learn here, stays here. The last thing I need is Greg finding out about that story Chelsea told you the other morning."  
  
Sara smiled conspiratorially. "So, what exactly were you doing with that cheerleader?"  
  
Nick tried to swallow a slightly embarrassed grin. "Chelsea failed to mention that I wasn't the only one in the showers. Half of the offensive line was there. The cheerleader in question was the coach's daughter and she offered to do a 'private cheer' for us. Just the thought was enough to get a group of teenage guys a little excited, if you know what I mean. That's when the coach walked in."  
  
Sara looked amused. "I can't wait to hear what else Chelsea has to say."  
  
Nick just shook his head. "Not a word, Sara."  
  
"I'll think about it." She smirked.  
  
A voice came over the intercom. "We're preparing to make our final descent into the Dallas/Fort Worth area. We have blue skies and the current temperature is 65 degrees. Please return to your seats at this time and fasten your seatbelts and return your seat to the upright position. If Dallas is your final destination, we'd like to welcome you home. If you are making a connecting flight, please consult the display consoles in the concourse for your gate number, or ask a ticketing agent for directions. Thank you for flying Delta Airlines, we hope to see you again soon."  
  
"The flight's already almost over?" Sara looked at Nick incredulously. He had kept her interested in the conversation so she didn't have time to be nervous about flying.  
  
Nick just grinned. 


	7. Chapter 7

Nick and Sara stood in baggage claim waiting for their luggage to drop onto the carousel. A small voice called out over the din. "Unca Nicky!"  
  
Nick turned toward the direction of the voice and a wide grin spread over his face. "Well, who is this? You sound like little miss Fiona, but you can't be her, you're too grown up."  
  
An earnest little face attached to a little girl of perhaps three looked up at Nick. "No, Unca Nicky. I Fiona."  
  
Nick leaned down and scooped the little girl up into his arms. "Why I hardly recognized you. You're practically grown up. Did you drive yourself here?"  
  
She shook her head vigorously. "Mommy drive."  
  
Sara watched the interaction between Nick and his niece with amusement.  
  
A breathless Chelsea reached them. "Oh, good, she found you. I turned around and she was gone." Chelsea looked at her daughter and scolded. "Honey, you can't go running off like that."  
  
A pout formed on her face. "I see Unca Nicky."  
  
Chelsea's expression softened. "I know, honey, but you need to stay with mommy." Chelsea looked over at Sara and grinned. "Who needs a gym membership with a three year old?"  
  
Sara smiled.  
  
Something caught Nick's attention out of the corner of his eye and he turned back toward the carousel. "I think our bags are finally coming off." He handed Fiona to Chelsea and grabbed both his and Sara's bags before she had the opportunity.  
  
Sara nervously put her hands into her pockets.  
  
Chelsea noticed her demeanor and smiled. "So, Sara, how was the flight?"  
  
Before Sara could answer, Fiona tapped Chelsea on the shoulder. "Mommy? Mommy? Mommy? Mommy?"  
  
Chelsea rolled her eyes for a moment. "Honey, mommy is talking."  
  
Fiona pointed at Sara. "Who is she?"  
  
Sara chuckled softly, but before she could answer, Nick interjected. "That's my friend, Sara. We're going to show her Dallas."  
  
Fiona clapped her hands. "Yeah." She turned her attention to Sara and started a virtual monologue. "We go to pick Aidy and Conna at school. Daddy go work. Do you swing? I like swing. Sliding good too. We got kitty. She nice. Ouchy sometime. Not play nice. I like appas. You like appas? We show you Dawas! You like Cowboys?"  
  
Sara looked dizzy trying to follow Fiona's words. She glanced over at Nick who was doing all he could to not laugh. Chelsea took pity on her. "We're stopping to pick up Aiden and Conner at school on the way home. I hope you're not allergic to cats, we just got a kitten and fortunately for her, she's got her claws. I don't know if Nick told you or not, but Kevin works for the Cowboys, so the kids get pretty excited about it."  
  
"Uh, ok. No, I'm not allergic." Sara managed to reply to Nick's amusement.  
  
As they made their way to Chelsea's van, she kept up a steady stream of questions. "So, the flight was good then?"  
  
"Uh, huh." Nick replied.  
  
"Sara, have you ever been to Texas before?" Chelsea continued.  
  
Sara shook her head. "Not unless changing planes counts."  
  
"You're going to love it. There is so much to do in Dallas. It's too bad that football season is over, we could have taken you to a Cowboys game. Too early for baseball. But I bet we could get some Maverick's tickets." Chelsea mentally calculated if she knew anyone with season tickets.  
  
"I'm sure that whatever we do will be fun." Sara replied smiling.  
  
"You're pwetty." Fiona grinned at Sara.  
  
"Thanks. I think you're pretty too." Sara chuckled at little girl.  
  
They loaded the luggage in the back of the van and both Chelsea and Nick insisted that Sara sit in the front. Both of them were well aware that when Aiden and Conner got in the vehicle, pandemonium would ensue and they thought it best that they ease Sara into things considering how quiet she'd been.  
  
Sara studied the landscape as they threaded their way through traffic toward Chelsea and Kevin's home. She felt a bit overwhelmed just meeting a three year old and she silently wondered how she would do meeting the rest of Nick's family. Perhaps coming to Dallas wasn't the best idea after all, but now it was too late to change her mind. She would just have to suck it up and enjoy herself. Nick was her good friend after all; she just hoped that he would be sensitive to the fact that she was an only child. It hadn't occurred to her until they were talking on the plane just how many people were in Nick's family.  
  
In the back of her mind, she was aware that Nick and Chelsea were talking and that Fiona kept interjecting her own comments. But she found herself deep in thought wondering about her own life and what she was missing out on by being so immersed in work. Nick had been right, she needed a vacation, but deep down she knew she really needed something more than that. People had hinted at it for years, some more strongly than others. Sara really did need an outside diversion. The way that case had affected her showed her that unless something changed, something significant, she was going to burn out and the only thing she'd ever loved doing would be gone, and then what would she have to live for. Not that she felt she was in danger of going over the edge, but if she continued the course she'd set without altering things, the eventuality of where things were headed was certain.  
  
"Sara?" There was a hint of concern in Nick's voice as he called to her from the backseat.  
  
She glanced back at him curiously. "Sorry, what?"  
  
He grinned at her, but she could tell he was concerned. "Did you want Chelsea to drop us off first, or go pick up the boys at school?"  
  
Sara glanced over at Chelsea who was smiling. "Uh, either is fine. Don't go to any trouble."  
  
Chelsea raised an eyebrow. "We have to go past the house anyway to get to the school. The traffic back from the airport wasn't as bad as I thought, so if you and Nick want to get settled before hurricane Aiden and Conner get home, I thought I'd give you the chance."  
  
Sara glanced back at Nick and shrugged her shoulders.  
  
"Chels, why don't you just drop us at the house." Nick could tell that whether or not Sara would admit it that she needed some time to collect her thoughts.  
  
"Home it is." Chelsea grinned. 


	8. Chapter 8

Fiona could still be heard screaming as Nick and Sara watched Chelsea pull back out of the driveway. The three year old had thrown a major fit when Chelsea tried to get her back into the minivan after dropping Nick and Sara and their luggage off at the house. Chelsea had spent ten minutes trying to reason with Fiona that she couldn't stay with 'Unca Nicky' and Sara, and then finally gave up and took her kicking and screaming back to the van.  
  
As Sara watched the vehicle retreat she turned to Nick with a smirk. "She was so cute earlier."  
  
Nick laughed. "She comes by it naturally, technically she's still two for another week and a half."  
  
"Oh, I get it now." Sara commented as if something had clicked.  
  
Nick looked at her curiously. "Get what?"  
  
"Terrible twos." Sara replied with a chuckle.  
  
Nick tried to restrain his laughter. "You really just got that?"  
  
A slightly embarrassed Sara nodded her head. "What? I'm not around kids very much."  
  
"It's a good thing Chels and Kevin have the mother-in-law apartment in their basement then." Nick still looked amused.  
  
"Why?" Sara wondered out loud as they carried their bags into the small attached apartment.  
  
Nick bit his lip to keep from laughing. "Have you ever been woken up by a couple of kids staring at you?"  
  
Sara shook her head. "No, why?"  
  
Nick couldn't hold his laughter back any longer.  
  
Sara raised an eyebrow. "What?"  
  
"Just be glad we're staying down here then. If we weren't, I'm sure Fiona would be up before dawn standing right next to your bed waiting for you to wake up. When Conner was her age, he almost gave me a heart attack one morning. I woke up with his face about two inches from mine." Nick emphasized the point by putting his hand in front of his face.  
  
Sara couldn't help but laugh at the image forming in her mind. She glanced around the small apartment and as she turned back toward Nick, she raised a curious eyebrow. "So, Nick."  
  
Without missing a beat, Nick answered her unspoken question. "You're sleeping in the bedroom, I'm sleeping out here. The couch folds out." He smiled. "That was what you were going to ask me, wasn't it?"  
  
She grinned. "You know, it scares me that you do that sometimes."  
  
"What? Finish your sentences?" Nick chuckled.  
  
Sara nodded.  
  
Nick just shrugged. "I just know you, that's all. Hey, I figure we have about a half an hour until Chelsea gets back with all the kids, do you want to go for a walk or something?"  
  
"Sure." Sara smiled at him.  
  
They strolled along the sidewalk in the modest suburban neighborhood. Sara glanced over at Nick and chuckled. He looked so at ease here in Dallas.  
  
Nick looked at her curiously. "What?"  
  
Sara shook her head. "Nothing."  
  
Nick elbowed her. "What?"  
  
Sara smirked. "You just seem more relaxed, like you fit here."  
  
"I did grow up around here. That might have something to do with it." Nick quipped.  
  
"I don't always feel relaxed when I go home." Sara confessed.  
  
"Well you did say you grew up in a bed and breakfast. It sounds like you'd be working when you went home." Nick offered.  
  
Sara considered his words. "I suppose. It certainly was a challenge to study when I lived at home. There was always something that needed to be done and my parents didn't really understand why I found science so fascinating."  
  
"I can relate." Nick chuckled.  
  
"I guess with a family of lawyers, you did sort of throw a monkey wrench into things." Sara smirked.  
  
"No, Michael did that first by becoming a doctor. But I know my parents weren't thrilled when I decided to go into law enforcement. I think when I decided to become a CSI they were relieved that I wouldn't be a patrol officer anymore, but they still don't really understand why I moved to Vegas." Nick smiled at Sara.  
  
"Why did you move to Vegas?" Sara queried him. She had worked with him for over three years and had never asked him why he was the only member of his family who didn't live in or near Dallas.  
  
"A lot of reasons. Fresh start. I got a chance to work with Grissom." Nick replied being somewhat evasive.  
  
"Something tells me that there is more to your story." Sara observed.  
  
Nick grinned. "There is. I'll tell you about it sometime, just not here."  
  
"Fair enough." Sara silently wondered what would have driven Nick to move three states away when the rest of his family was here. She supposed that when they left Dallas for the Gulf Coast later that week that they'd have a chance to talk then.  
  
Nick turned to her. "We should head back. If we're not there when Chels gets back, I'm sure Fiona will throw another fit."  
  
Sara furrowed her brow. "Nick?"  
  
"Yeah?" He looked at her curiously.  
  
"Uh, how old are the rest of your nieces and nephews?" The thought occurred to her that if she had to spend a week with small children she was going to be in trouble. Outside of a little girl she'd watched on a case a couple of years back, she'd never babysat a day in her life. She just didn't know what to do with kids.  
  
Nick had to laugh at the panic that registered on her face. "Don't worry. Fiona is the youngest, at least until Susan has her baby in April."  
  
"Just how many nieces and nephews do you have?" Sara wanted to mentally prepare herself for how many people she was going to be meeting.  
  
"Eight nieces, and ten nephews." He was grinning in amusement at her.  
  
"Wow." Sara managed.  
  
They neared Chelsea's house and as they walked up to the front door it burst open and two boys nearly tackled Nick. "Uncle Nick!"  
  
"Hey, Conner, hey, Aiden." Nick had caught the boys each in a headlock with his arms.  
  
Sara looked thoroughly amused.  
  
Aiden glanced at Sara. "Hey, Uncle Nick, is that your girlfriend?"  
  
Nick let the boys go and shook his head. "No, this is my friend Sara."  
  
Conner studied Sara for a moment and then looked at Nick. "Uncle Nick, mom says you're in love with her. Are you in love with her." 


	9. Chapter 9

If Nick could have had the sidewalk swallow him up at that instant he would have. He knew that Chelsea had something up her sleeve the moment she suggested that both Nick and Sara come to Dallas. The fact that her kids were quizzing him meant that she had most likely talked at length with the rest of his sisters on the phone about Sara.  
  
He glanced over at Sara who looked at little embarrassed at Conner's question. "Conner, man. Sara's my friend, and while she a very beautiful woman, I'm not in love with her, and she's not in love with me." Nick tried to clarify.  
  
Conner wasn't catching the clue. "Uncle Nick, why wouldn't she be in love with you. Mom says a lot of women are in love with you."  
  
Nick was about to explain further when Conner turned to Sara. "Uncle Nick's a nice guy. Why aren't you in love with him?"  
  
Sara was speechless. She glanced over at Nick and noticed how uncomfortable he looked. It was all she could do to not laugh.  
  
Nick raised an eyebrow at his younger nephew. "Conner, where's your mom?"  
  
Panic swept over Conner's face. "Am I in trouble? I don't want to be grounded again. Last time it was Aiden's fault." At the mention of his name, Aiden disappeared into the house.  
  
"No, you're not in trouble with me. But you might not want to ask questions like that." Nick chided his nephew gently.  
  
Conner tilted his head slightly. "Why?"  
  
Nick glanced over at Sara who was laughing. "He's six." He took Conner's hand and they walked back into the house. Nick glanced around and then looked down at Conner. "Where's your mom, bud?"  
  
"Ona fell asleep in the van. Mom's putting her down for a nap. She said she sure needed one." Conner grinned at Nick before throwing his arms around his waist. "I'm glad you're here, Uncle Nick."  
  
"I'm glad to be here, bud." He looked at Sara for a moment. She was trying not to laugh. He raised an eyebrow at her. She just shook her head and mouthed that she'd tell him later. Nick looked back down at his nephew. "Where did your brother disappear to?" His tone of voice was all business.  
  
"The fort." Conner replied matter of factly as he stepped away from Nick.  
  
"The fort?" Nick raised a curious eyebrow.  
  
"We builded it in the back yard." Conner pointed through the sliding glass door that opened onto the deck.  
  
"I see." Nick grinned. "Well, why don't you go tell him to come here."  
  
Conner grinned back. "Ok." He quickly turned and ran toward the sliding door, yelling even before he had opened the door. "Aiden! Aiden!"  
  
A harried looking Chelsea emerged from the hallway. "Conner!" Her voice was low, but there was a hiss to it.  
  
Conner looked at his mom with a sheepish expression. "Sorry."  
  
"Fiona is sleeping, honey, keep your voice down." Chelsea looked like she could use a nap herself.  
  
Nick grinned a little too widely at his sister. "Hey, Chels."  
  
Chelsea knew that look. She feigned innocence. "Did you two get settled in?"  
  
Nick nodded. "Yeah, and we went for a walk."  
  
Chelsea looked from Nick to Sara and back again. Sara looked amused. Nick looked like he was moving in for the kill. "So, Chels, just what have you been telling everyone about Sara?"  
  
Sara glanced over at Nick and cleared her throat. "Uh, I'm going to go down to the apartment, I need to freshen up."  
  
Nick knew she didn't but he appreciated the opportunity to question Chelsea in private. He smiled at Sara. "Ok." He turned his attention back to Chelsea and simply raised an eyebrow. "So?"  
  
"I'm not sure what you mean, Nick." Chelsea was clearly dodging the issue and smiled.  
  
Nick wasn't buying it. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and grinned. "Conner said you thought I was in love with Sara. What gives?"  
  
"He's six, Nick. What do you expect?" Chelsea was furiously backpedaling.  
  
Nick chuckled. "You told everyone that I was in love with Sara, didn't you?"  
  
Chelsea didn't say a word. She just smirked.  
  
"Now why would you do that? You know that she and I are just friends." Nick leaned toward his sister.  
  
Chelsea raised an eyebrow. "Are you?  
  
Nick looked a little taken aback. "What?"  
  
"Are you just friends? Because the vibe I'm picking up is a little different." Chelsea challenge Nick.  
  
"Of course we're just friends. Why would you think otherwise?" Nick was perplexed.  
  
Chelsea smiled. "Now, Nick, I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but whether you want to admit it or not, I think you have feelings for Sara that are a little more than just friends. Why would you bring her to Dallas otherwise?"  
  
"Chels, you pretty much made me invite her." Nick defended.  
  
Chelsea chuckled. "Since when have you listened to me? You invited her because you wanted to. Maybe you should ask yourself what you really feel."  
  
Nick just rolled his eyes.  
  
With a glint in her eye, Chelsea continued. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Sara's in as much denial as you are."  
  
Nick was speechless.  
  
Just then Conner and Aiden burst back into the house in flurry of noise. Chelsea turned around and with one look silenced them. "Boys, your sister is sleeping. Go outside and play for a while. Uncle Nick and Sara want to spend some time alone before we have dinner with Grandma and Grandpa tonight." She raised her hand and pointed toward the back door. "Now go."  
  
When she turned back around to look at Nick, he was still speechless. 


	10. Chapter 10

Nick looked at Chelsea with disbelief. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
She smirked. "Nick, I'm not going to figure it out for you. I told you what I think."  
  
"Sara and I are just friends." Nick stammered.  
  
Chelsea raised a single eyebrow. "Famous last words."  
  
Nick clenched his jaw. "You know I'm going to be lucky if she's still speaking to me by the time we get back to Vegas if everyone is intent on trying to make this into something that it's not."  
  
"I think you're putting up far too much of a fuss." Chelsea had the look of near victory on her face.  
  
Nick rolled his eyes. "Just tone it down, Chels. Sara's an only child and if all of you keep this up, she's not going to last a day in Dallas." He turned on his heels and made his way down to the apartment where Sara had gone.  
  
She glanced up from where she sat on the couch as he entered and noticed the exasperation on his face. "What's wrong?"  
  
He looked over at her and shook his head in frustration. "I'm really sorry for all of that. My sister is out of line. I have a feeling that they're all going to be out of line before we leave and I guess I should have warned you."  
  
"I think it's pretty funny actually." Sara confessed with a smirk.  
  
Nick's eyebrows shot up. "Funny? What's funny about it?"  
  
Sara tried to restrain a laugh. "If you could see yourself, Nick, you'd laugh. Your nephews were priceless; did you see how Aiden ran as fast as he could as soon as Conner said the word 'grounded'? And your sister, she's not exactly being subtle."  
  
"That's the point. None of them are subtle. They do this every time I come home. For whatever reason, they feel the need to try and create a love life for me." Nick let out a deep sigh before sitting next to her on the couch. "Why can't they just leave well enough alone?"  
  
"It's obvious they care about you, Nick." Sara smiled at him.  
  
"Well, that may be the case, but I'm sorry that they're pulling you into this. It's not fair to you." Nick looked apologetic.  
  
Sara raised an eyebrow. "I think I can hold my own with your sisters; besides, it's kind of flattering that they think I'd be good enough for you." She chuckled softly.  
  
"Do you realize that Chelsea told all of my sisters that I'm in love with you?" Nick just shook his head.  
  
Sara looked somewhat amused. "So are you?"  
  
Nick looked immediately flustered. "What?"  
  
She had an expression on her face usually reserved for when she was reviewing the facts in a case. "Are you in love with me?"  
  
Disbelief at what she was asking him crossed his face. "Am I in love with you?"  
  
"I don't know, you tell me." Sara looked completely calm as she asked the question.  
  
Nick looked confused. "Why are you asking me if I'm in love with you?"  
  
Sara raised her eyebrow at him. "Nick, if you can't even answer the question when I ask you, how in the world do you expect your sisters to believe you?"  
  
"Am I in love with you?" Nick looked at Sara as if she held the answer.  
  
"I was asking you that question. Should I repeat it?" Sara wondered why Nick was getting so flustered over a simple question that they both should know the answer to.  
  
Nick shook his head. "No, I can answer the question." He glanced away and swallowed. "Am I in love with you?" The way he phrased it made it sound like he was trying to work out a difficult math equation in his head.  
  
Sara pursed her lips together and furrowed her brow. "You do know the answer to the question, don't you?"  
  
"Uh, yeah." Nick stammered. He looked at Sara for a moment.  
  
"Nick, you're making me nervous. You're not in love with me are you?" Sara felt a bit of panic rising up in her throat.  
  
"Uh, I don't think so." Nick wasn't sure anymore. He hadn't really thought about it before, and now that the topic was on the table, he wasn't sure.  
  
Sara measured her words carefully. "You don't think so? You don't know?"  
  
"I never really thought about it before, and Chelsea seems pretty convinced that I'm in denial." He studied Sara for a moment. "Hell, she thinks you're in denial too."  
  
Sara was taken aback. "Me? What do you mean?"  
  
"She thinks that you're in love with me." Nick looked confused.  
  
"I'm in love with you?" Sara didn't know what to think.  
  
"That's what she thinks." Nick was beginning to think that this was one of the strangest conversations he'd ever had. He only hoped it wouldn't end with him giving Sara a ride to the airport.  
  
Sara just sat there for a few minutes not saying anything. She knew that she and Nick were close friends, but love? She'd never really thought about it. She turned toward Nick, who looked as confused as she felt. "I'm not in love with you, am I?"  
  
Nick raised his eyebrows. "See what I mean? They've planted a seed of doubt. If we're not careful, we'll be married with six kids by the time we leave."  
  
Sara started laughing. "Nick, do you realize how ridiculous this is?"  
  
"Ok, so six kids is an exaggeration." Nick smirked.  
  
Sara elbowed him. "We're friends. Right?"  
  
"Friends." Nick agreed, not sounding completely convinced.  
  
"Good friends." Sara continued.  
  
Nick smiled and slung his arm around her shoulder. "Great friends."  
  
Sara leaned her head against his shoulder. "The best."  
  
"Couldn't ask for better." Nick agreed smiling as he tightened his grip on her shoulder.  
  
"So, it's no problem then. Whatever they think doesn't matter. We know the truth." Sara reasoned relaxing against him.  
  
"The truth." Nick stated, not really sure what the truth was any more.  
  
"Yeah, the truth." Sara agreed with a hint of doubt in her voice. "We do know what the truth is, don't we?"  
  
"Uh, sure." Nick tried to sound assuring, but wasn't too successful.  
  
"What is it?" Sara asked curiously.  
  
"I don't know." Nick admitted.  
  
Sara bit her lower lip. "I don't either."  
  
Nick furrowed his brow. "Would it be a bad thing?"  
  
Sara pulled away from him and looked at him quizzically. "Would what be a bad thing?"  
  
Nick looked nervous. "If we were in love with each other. Would that be a bad thing?"  
  
Sara considered his words for a moment. "What do you think?"  
  
"I asked you first." Nick was slightly amused at Sara's reluctance to answer the question.  
  
"I guess not. I mean, you are one of my best friends. It isn't the worst thing that could happen." She admitted.  
  
"Ok, then. So, if we were to fall in love, we'd both be ok with that then." Nick clarified.  
  
"I guess so." Sara wondered where he was going with this.  
  
"So regardless of what my sisters try and pull, we're ok." Nick sounded a bit more confident.  
  
"Sure." Sara was beginning to wonder what she'd gotten herself into. 


	11. Chapter 11

Sara found herself feeling a little unsettled. Ok, if she would admit it to herself, she was feeling a lot unsettled. The conversation with Nick had not worked out quite as she had imagined. When she'd asked him the question in the first place she presented it as she would when presenting evidence. She figured that they both knew that they were just friends and that if they just articulated it to each other that they could pose a united front against whatever his sisters had plotted to do to get them together. Now she wasn't so sure. Nick didn't seem to know what he thought, and quite frankly, neither did she. Chelsea had managed to plant a seed of doubt, and at the moment it was running rampant in her mind. Nick was her friend. Her completely gorgeous, single, male friend. She knew that he was attractive, she'd even ogled him in the locker room on a couple of occasions to try and embarrass him, but she'd never considered him anything other than a very good, close friend.  
  
At least until now. Now she kept mulling the situation over in her mind. She'd been in Dallas less than twenty-four hours with nearly two weeks to go until they returned to Vegas, and she was completely questioning what she thought of her friend. She had been so obsessed with Grissom for so long that the thought of Nick being anything other than a friend had never occurred to her.  
  
And now that it had, she began to evaluate how she felt. Of all the people she worked with, she felt the closest to Nick. When she'd moved to Vegas, he welcomed her. Catherine had viewed her with suspicion and Warrick had been the one she was investigating. Nick though had always been himself. No pretense, no agenda, no reason to be anything but real with her about who he was. And she admired that.  
  
When she'd stopped at his house in the middle of the night after she'd left the crime scene, he didn't turn her away, he invited her in and listened. He was definitely a good friend. But the question begged. Was he more than that? Had he silently won her heart without her realizing it? Without even trying to?  
  
Sara had gathered from their conversation that Nick didn't seem to think that it would be such a bad thing if they were in love with each other, and she didn't either. But were they in love? She wasn't sure. She really didn't know.  
  
As she continued to mull things over, she realized that something in her life needed to change and maybe, just maybe she should be open to letting herself fall in love with Nick. If it was supposed to happen, maybe she should just let it; just relax and see what happened.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Nick had been thrown for a loop when Sara had asked him if he was in love with her. Chelsea had already planted a seed of doubt into something he thought he was sure of. Now he didn't know. He had never expected that Sara would ask him that question. Oh, he knew that she was just trying to get the facts out on the table to make him feel better, but the spiral he was in when she'd asked the question had just put him into a tailspin.  
  
Was he in love with Sara? He couldn't say no, but he wasn't sure he could say yes either. The fact that he didn't know the answer without a doubt, left open the possibility that he was in fact in love with her. He had just never thought of Sara that way before. In his mind, Grissom always had some claim on her. So Nick had never considered that Sara would be anything more than his friend.  
  
Maybe Chelsea was right. Maybe he needed to be questioning himself on why he'd asked Sara to come to Dallas. Maybe he needed to question why she'd agreed to come. Maybe they were both in denial.  
  
Sara seemed to be just as unsettled as he was. She didn't seem to know what she felt either. Nick wasn't sure whether that or the fact that Sara still had to meet the rest of his family scared him more. It wasn't that he was afraid of being in a relationship. It was that Sara was such a good friend, he was afraid of ruining it if things between them didn't work out. And with his sisters seemingly intent on trying to get him and Sara together, he was feeling vulnerable.  
  
He definitely found Sara attractive. He'd have to be blind not to notice the slight curves on her tall slender body. Hell, they'd spent the last three years flirting shamelessly with each other at work. And if he was being completely honest, he'd have to admit that he'd had carnal thoughts about Sara on more than one occasion, however, he had just attributed that to the fact that he was a guy and she was an incredibly attractive woman.  
  
But above everything, they were friends. Weren't they? Or was there more? Should there be more? He just wasn't sure. But then, maybe they owed it to themselves to find out. If something was supposed to happen between them, maybe they should just let it. They didn't have to be back in Vegas for almost two weeks. Surely in that time they could figure out whether they had any real feelings for each other. Maybe he should just relax and just see what would happen.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chelsea smiled over her cup of coffee as her husband Kevin walked through the front door. "Hey, honey."  
  
Kevin Flanagan was tall and lanky, and unlike the Stokes' clan he had a fair complexion and red hair. He smiled at his wife and could tell by the curve of her lips that she was up to something. "What did you do, Chels?" Kevin Flanagan might work as a contracts attorney for the Dallas Cowboys, but he could have been a very sharp litigator in the court room.  
  
She chuckled. "Nick's here."  
  
Kevin just shook his head as he walked over to where she sat. "You know, he is very capable of handling his own life."  
  
Chelsea turned her lips upward to meet Kevin's in greeting. "You haven't met Sara yet."  
  
Kevin chuckled. "Well you've been talking about her nonstop since you got back from Vegas, I feel like I already know her."  
  
"Well she's perfect for him. They're both just in a little bit of denial." Chelsea explained.  
  
Kevin raised a cautionary eyebrow. "What do you and your sisters have up your sleeve?"  
  
Chelsea smirked. "I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
Kevin laughed. "I know you better than that, honey. The five of you have been trying to marry Nick off for years."  
  
Chelsea smiled. "Ok, so I had a little talk with Nick after Conner repeated something to him that I might have said to Megan on the phone."  
  
"Chels?" Kevin wanted more information. "What exactly did Conner say?"  
  
A sheepish expression crossed Chelsea's face. "He said that I thought Nick was in love with Sara."  
  
Kevin shook his head in amused disbelief. "You didn't." He knew full well that she had.  
  
"But, honey, I really think he is. In fact, I think Sara's in love with him too. They're just both in denial. They need a little push." Chelsea rationalized emphasizing her point with the heel of her hand.  
  
Kevin laughed again. "Do you remember the last time you tried to give Nick a little push?" The Stokes women had this idea that everyone, especially Nick, should be just as happily married as they all were.  
  
Chelsea feigned innocence. "I'm not sure I follow."  
  
"That's when he moved to Vegas." Kevin sounded as if the evidence spoke for itself.  
  
Chelsea's expression was earnest. "But this time, I'm sure. You haven't seen them together, I have."  
  
"Chels, he's a grown man." Kevin chided gently.  
  
Chelsea raised her eyebrow. "Kev, trust me. Sara's perfect for him."  
  
"But they're not even dating." Kevin reminded her.  
  
Chelsea laughed. "That didn't seem to stop you."  
  
Kevin looked sheepish. "Ok, so you have a point."  
  
"Yes, I do. You know very well that two people who claim to be 'just friends' can end up very happily married without ever dating." Chelsea looked amused.  
  
Kevin rested his hands on Chelsea's shoulders and leaned his forehead against hers. "But honey, I thought we went on at least one date before I proposed."  
  
Chelsea chuckled. "She's perfect for him, hon. You'll see." 


	12. Chapter 12

To say that Sara was a little overwhelmed at dinner was a bit of an understatement. It had started out quietly, Nick's parents and his grandmother were supposed to come over to Chelsea and Kevin's for dinner. However, when the doorbell had rung, Amy and Richard and their kids were on the other side of the door. And it didn't stop there. By the time Nick figured out that this quiet dinner had turned into an impromptu family gathering, nearly every member of his family was there and the expression on Sara's face reflected panic. Nick's parents were the last to arrive, and from the surprise on their faces they clearly didn't expect to see the rest of their family either.  
  
Sara felt as if the smile on her face was pasted on. She had no idea that she was going to meet all of Nick's family all at once. For someone whose immediate family numbered three, thirty-three was more than overwhelming. She felt like bolting from the house and the only reason she didn't was because she didn't want to embarrass Nick.  
  
The only thing keeping Nick from feeling at ease was Sara's telltale expression. He turned his attention away from the conversation around the room and placed his hand on Sara's arm, leaning in and whispering in her ear. "You doing ok?"  
  
Sara smirked and whispered back. "I thought only your parents and your grandmother were coming for dinner."  
  
"That's what they told me." Nick tried to sound calm. "I really had no idea that everyone else was going to be here. I'm sorry."  
  
Sara tried to maintain her composure. "If you leave me alone, I'll kill you."  
  
Nick chuckled. "Don't worry. I've got your back."  
  
"You'd better." Sara wasn't sure she was going to last the evening. She had never been hugged by so many strangers in her entire life. She liked to keep people at arms length so she could stay in control. At the moment she felt anything but.  
  
"I think Chels is probably responsible for this." Nick whispered.  
  
Sara whispered back. "Well you said she'd told everyone that she thought you were in love with me."  
  
Nick glanced over and noticed that several of his sisters were looking at him and Sara with conspiratorial smiles. He looked back to Sara. "Do you want to get some fresh air?"  
  
"Don't you think that's going to raise a few eyebrows?" Sara queried him with a raised eyebrow of her own.  
  
"I think anything we do is going to raise their eyebrows." Nick quipped.  
  
"Ok, you may have a point there." She conceded with a smirk.  
  
Megan had made her way over to where Nick and Sara were sitting. She looked very much like Chelsea in her complexion and coloring, but she was several inches taller. "Are you two having a good time?" There was something about her voice that just dripped sweetness.  
  
Nick raised his eyebrow at her. "Sara and I are going to go for a walk." He stood up and offered Sara his hand to help her off the couch.  
  
As Sara took it and then stood, a wide smile spread across Megan's face. "There's nothing like a walk in the Texas moonlight." Her inflection clearly implied that it sounded romantic.  
  
Nick rolled his eyes and dropped Sara's hand, putting it at the small of her back as he began to propel them toward the front door. "We'll be back in a little while, Meg."  
  
"Don't hurry back on my account. By the time you get back we probably won't be here. It is a school night." She was grinning.  
  
They had almost made it to the front door when they were intercepted by Nick's mom Pamela. "Where are you headed, Nick?"  
  
Nick smiled at his mom. "We just need to get a little air, Mom."  
  
Pamela glanced over at Sara and noticed the slightly panicked expression on Sara's face. "Don't let the girls get to you, Sara. They mean well."  
  
Sara liked Nick's mom. She seemed to be very genuine, and she had been looking forward to meeting her before this evening. As it was, she had only been able to exchange pleasantries with her and just about everyone else. "Thanks. Everyone is very nice. It's just." Sara shot Nick a 'help me I'm drowning' expression.  
  
Nick interjected. "Mom, Sara's an only child. Giving her both barrels the first day we're in Dallas is a little much."  
  
Pamela chuckled. "I'll talk to them, Nick, but you know how they are."  
  
Nick chuckled. "Yes, I do." He glanced over at Sara and then back at his mom. "We'll be back in a little while. We're just going to go walk around the block a few times."  
  
Pamela leaned up and kissed Nick on the cheek. "Ok, honey." She turned her attention to Sara. "Make sure Nick brings you over this week. I really was looking forward to getting to know you."  
  
Sara smiled. "Me too."  
  
Nick and Sara headed out the front door and as they walked, Sara began to relax. Nick smiled at her. "You doing ok?"  
  
She turned toward him and nodded. "Yeah, that was just a little more than I expected."  
  
"Well, if I had known that's what Chelsea had planned, I would have warned you, or maybe just played hooky." Nick chuckled.  
  
Sara's eyebrows shot up in horror. "You would have left me alone with them?"  
  
Nick laughed and slung his arm around her shoulder. "Sara, I wouldn't do that. I would have taken you with me."  
  
"Good, because if you had left me alone with your entire family, I think I would have had to kill you." She commented wryly.  
  
Nick squeezed her shoulder. "I wouldn't do something like that, Sar."  
  
Sara found herself leaning into him as they walked. "You look a lot like your dad you know."  
  
Nick chuckled. "I've heard that before. I just hope I look as good as he does when I'm his age."  
  
"He seems really proud of you." She observed.  
  
"You think?" Nick sounded a bit doubtful.  
  
She smiled. "Yeah, I think." They were quiet for a few moments, only the sound of their footsteps and the occasional passing car or barking dog could be heard. "Your mom is really nice."  
  
"She likes you." Nick squeezed Sara's shoulders again.  
  
"I like her too." Sara's voice reflected her smile.  
  
"My sisters all like you." Nick offered.  
  
Sara laughed. "Is that because of what Chelsea told them, or because they met me?"  
  
Nick smiled. "Probably both." He stopped and turned to face her, his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sorry that they're giving you such a hard time. I had hoped that you'd get to meet them a little at a time, not like this."  
  
Sara smiled back at him. "Nick, they obviously care about you and just want you to be happy."  
  
"Yeah, but I don't want you to regret coming here with me because my sisters are intent on pushing us together." Nick looked apologetic.  
  
Sara pulled him into a hug. "I'll let you know if it's too much. It might be in the form of a phone call from the airport so you don't send out a search party for me, but I'll let you know."  
  
Nick laughed and hugged her back. "Ok then." He released her and gestured toward the house. "Think maybe we should get back before their imaginations get away from them?"  
  
Sara took a few deep breaths. "Ok, ready as I'll ever be." 


	13. Chapter 13

As they approached the house, they noticed that most of Nick's brothers in law were standing out on the deck on the side of the house talking. Kevin raised a hand in greeting. "Did the ladies drive you two away?"  
  
Nick chuckled. "Something like that."  
  
"You gotta watch out for those Stokes women, Sara." Andrea's husband Ryan quipped. "They're tricky; they managed to catch all of us."  
  
Sara wasn't sure whether to laugh or run so she just pasted on a smile.  
  
Nick slung his arm around her shoulder and gave it a squeeze before they entered the house. They could hear Amy, Andrea, Grace and Megan talking with Chelsea in the kitchen. None of them had noticed that Nick and Sara had walked back into the house.  
  
"Do you think it worked?" Grace queried the others.  
  
"Well, it got them out of the house together, didn't it?" Chelsea sounded extremely pleased with herself.  
  
"I think you're right though, Chels. She is perfect for him." Megan added her two bits.  
  
"I told you." Chelsea continued.  
  
Nick and Sara paused in the entryway to the kitchen, having heard most of the conversation. Nick cleared his throat and put his hand on Sara's back in a supportive gesture. As his sisters turned around, he grinned at them widely. "So then, this was the plan?"  
  
Chelsea feigned innocence. "Nick. Sara. I didn't see you standing there."  
  
He chuckled. "That's obvious, Chels." He turned his attention to the rest of his sisters; he could feel Sara tensing next to him. "For the record, Sara is my friend. I'd appreciate it if all y'all would cut us a little slack. If she and I decide at some point that we'd like to be more than just friends, that's a decision that we need to make. We don't need your help. Ok?"  
  
They nodded, but Nick could tell from their expressions that they weren't going to give up just because he'd asked. He looked over at Sara. "Hey, I'm going to say goodnight to my parents and my grandmother and then we can go downstairs and watch a movie or something."  
  
Sara looked at him gratefully. "Ok, but if you don't mind, I'm just going to go downstairs."  
  
Nick just nodded at her and smiled.  
  
Sara felt relief wash over her as she entered the apartment. As much as she thought meeting Nick's family would be fun before they'd arrived in Dallas, she really wasn't prepared for the reality of it. She mulled over the events of the day as she changed into a T-shirt and a pair of pajama pants and sank into the couch, waiting for Nick. She was enjoying getting to see a different side to him, but she had never imagined that his family would overwhelm her that much. She was thankful that at least most of his nieces and nephews were more interested in getting to see the latest 'Spy Kids' movie than meeting her. They had all been gathered in the large family room adjacent to the living room watching it when they'd returned from their walk.  
  
Nick had an apologetic expression when he entered the apartment. "I'm really sorry about all of this, Sara. I should have known that they would try something like this."  
  
Sara smiled at him and gestured for him to join her on the couch. "Nick, you didn't know."  
  
"But I should have. I've been in this family my entire life; I should know them by now." He smirked at her as he sat down. He had a couple of DVDs in his hand.  
  
Sara just shook her head in amusement. "At least I survived."  
  
Nick chuckled. "Ok, so what do you want to watch?"  
  
Sara raised an eyebrow. "What are my choices? I'm assuming since you only have two DVDs in your hand, you've narrowed it down."  
  
"Good deduction skills, Sara. Ever think about becoming a CSI? With attention to detail like that, you could go far." Nick teased.  
  
Sara grabbed the DVDs out of his hand. "Ok, I can tell you right now that we are not watching this one." She held up one of the DVDs and a smirk spread across her face.  
  
Nick feigned a hurt expression. "What do you have against 'Smokey and the Bandit'?"  
  
She ignored him. "Now this one is more like it." She held up the other DVD.  
  
Nick's expression betrayed the fact that she held up the movie he really wanted to watch. "I don't know, Sara. I mean really. 'Ocean's Eleven'?"  
  
Sara smirked. "You like Julia Roberts and you know it."  
  
He chuckled. "And it doesn't hurt that you like Brad Pitt and George Clooney."  
  
Sara tried to restrain her smile. "There's just something sexy about a man named George."  
  
Nick grinned. "Ok, 'Ocean's Eleven' it is."  
  
They put the movie in and settled themselves on the couch. Nick slung his arm over Sara's shoulders and she found herself resting her head against him as they watched the movie.  
  
"You know, that would never happen in Vegas." Sara commented.  
  
"Yeah, because we'd be the ones investigating them." Nick agreed.  
  
Sara smiled. "We're pretty good, huh?"  
  
Nick chuckled. "Yes, we are."  
  
Sara was quiet for a few minutes. Her thoughts somehow turning unbidden to the image of that young girl lying on the sidewalk in front of her home in a pool of her own blood. "We're not good enough though."  
  
Nick noticed the change in her tone of voice. "Hey, are you ok?" He tightened his arm around her shoulder.  
  
"We can't solve them all. Sometimes they walk no matter what we do." Sara mussed; a slight hitch in her voice.  
  
"Hey, shh." Nick wrapped both of his arms around her and pulled her close.  
  
Sara was quiet for a while, just leaning into the comfort of Nick's embrace. Finally, she let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Nick."  
  
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Sar." His voice was reassuring.  
  
"This is supposed to be a vacation, not psychoanalysis for Sara." She tried to keep her tone light.  
  
"Hey, no psychoanalysis here. Just good old fashioned friendship." Nick replied with a smile.  
  
"Thanks for everything, Nick. I'm sorry your family is giving you such a hard time because of me." Sara's eyes were closed. She just wanted to enjoy the security of Nick's arms.  
  
"I'm glad you're here, regardless of how they're acting. Usually when I come to visit, I spend all my time with them. I never really get time to relax or do what I want." As his arms tightened around her, he was very conscious of how much he was enjoying the feel of her in his arms.  
  
Sara smiled and pulled away from him. "Hey, we should both get some sleep. You still have to show me Dallas. All I've seen so far is the web your sisters are trying to spin for me."  
  
Nick chuckled. "That's a pretty good way to put it."  
  
Sara pulled herself up off the couch. "Here, let me help you pull this thing out before I go to bed."  
  
Nick stood up and as they pulled the cushions off to pull the fold out bed out, they noticed that the mattress was missing. Nick cursed under his breath. "I'm going to kill her."  
  
Sara crossed her arms in front of her body and smirked. "Chelsea's good."  
  
Nick raised an eyebrow. "Devious is more like it. Even I wouldn't have expected this from her."  
  
"She really wants you and I to get together, doesn't she?" Sara observed with a hint of amusement.  
  
Nick tried to restrain his smile. "Yeah, and we're only on day one." 


	14. Chapter 14

Sara woke to the muffled sound of Nick's voice and giggling. A smile spread across her face as she realized that Fiona must have woken him up and now he was tickling her. Sara stretched and then closed her eyes for a moment. She wanted to savor how relaxed she felt at just that moment. The giggles were interrupted by a high pitched squeal and then more giggling. Sara had to restrain her own laughter as she heard Nick trying to keep his voice down.  
  
"No, Fiona, don't go in there." Nick was too late because Fiona had already opened the bedroom door. "Sara's still sleeping." The last part of his sentence was an attempt at a whisper.  
  
Sara tried to keep a straight face with her eyes closed. She fully expected that Fiona would stand beside the bed and stare at her after what Nick had told her, what she didn't expect was that the little girl would climb up on the bed and crawl up next to her and peer down at her, much the way Sara would when trying to find miniscule evidence on carpet. She could feel Fiona's breath on her face as the little girl hovered, trying not to giggle.  
  
Nick whispered. "Fiona, you need to come back out here, Sara's sleeping."  
  
Fiona started to giggle, and Sara couldn't contain herself any longer and burst out laughing.  
  
"You're awake." Nick observed standing in the doorway.  
  
"Sara's not sleeping, Unca Nicky." Fiona tilted her head slightly and pointed at Sara, her finger a fraction of an inch from Sara's face. "See."  
  
Sara sat up in bed and grinned at Nick. "Yeah, I'm not sleeping."  
  
Nick chuckled. "We didn't wake you up, did we?"  
  
Sara shook her head in amusement. "No." She looked over at Fiona and smiled. "How are you this morning, young lady?"  
  
"Do you like the zoo?" Fiona looked at her in anticipation that Sara's answer might hold her entire day's happiness in it.  
  
"I love the zoo." Sara replied.  
  
Fiona's eyebrows shot up and she looked over at Nick with a giddy expression. "Sara loves the zoo!"  
  
Nick looked thoroughly amused. "I heard. Maybe we should ask her if she wants to go to the zoo today."  
  
Fiona nodded her head excitedly and turned back to Sara. "Wanna go to the zoo? Unca Nicky said if you said yes, we could go to the zoo. Can we? Huh?"  
  
It was all Sara could do to not dissolve into laughter. She smiled at Fiona and nodded. "That sounds like fun." She glanced up at Nick curiously.  
  
Fiona stood up and started jumping on the bed. "We're going to the zoo! Yeah! Yeah!"  
  
Nick walked over toward the bed and grabbed Fiona mid-jump. "Fiona, hon, the zoo doesn't open for a couple more hours, and we need to let Sara have time to get ready and get something to eat. Why don't you go out in the other room and finish watching 'Sponge Bob'?"  
  
Fiona nodded vigorously. "Ok."  
  
Nick put her down on the floor and Fiona ran out into the other room chanting. "Sponge Bob! Sponge Bob!"  
  
For the first time, Sara noticed that Nick was already showered and dressed. She smiled at him as she sat there certain that she looked rumpled in comparison. "How did you sleep?"  
  
Nick reached up and rubbed his neck. "I'm a little stiff, but I'll be alright."  
  
Sara pursed her lips together and raised an eyebrow. "Did you talk to Chelsea?"  
  
Nick nodded and then chuckled. "Well, when I mentioned that I got a stiff neck from trying to sleep on the couch, she looked horrified. Apparently, Aiden and Conner stole the mattress from the hide-a-bed and put it in their fort."  
  
Sara looked doubtful.  
  
"The boys even confessed." Nick smirked. "And since they're both grounded because of it, I'm pretty sure she didn't put them up to it. They figured since Kevin's mom wasn't living down here anymore that no one would miss the mattress."  
  
Sara looked amused. "I supposed I should get dressed if we're going to the zoo."  
  
Nick crossed his arms in front of his body. "Only if you want to, but you might be more comfortable in a pair of jeans instead of your pajamas." There was a smirk clearly etched on his face.  
  
Sara rolled her eyes. "So did Fiona wake you up?" She asked curiously covering her mouth as a yawn overtook her.  
  
Nick shook his head, trying to restrain his smile as he studied Sara. "No, I went upstairs looking for coffee and when I mentioned the couch to Chels, Fiona decided to help me bring the mattress down." Damn, Sara was attractive first thing in the morning. Nick grinned in spite of himself.  
  
Sara smiled. "So we're going to the zoo, huh?"  
  
"Chels got called in to work on a case and I said we could watch Fiona. I hope that's ok." Nick flashed her an apologetic smile.  
  
She nodded and smiled. "Sure. It should be fun." Seeing Nick with a small child all day would be interesting.  
  
Nick tried to swallow a smile. Sara had no idea what watching a three year old involved, but then sometimes ignorance was bliss. "Ok, I supposed I should let you get ready."  
  
Sara tried to stifle another yawn as she climbed out of bed. "I suppose you should."  
  
Nick gestured with his thumb towards the living room. "I'd better make sure that watching 'Sponge Bob' doesn't get out of hand."  
  
"Admit it, Nick, you love cartoons." Sara quipped.  
  
Nick just laughed and turned and left the room.  
  
As she watched him retreat, the thought occurred to Sara that she'd never noticed how cute his butt was before. She tried to shake the thought out of her head. This was Nick she was talking about, her friend Nick. As quickly as she tried to shake the thought, she asked herself what she was doing. She had decided to just see what would happen between them, and if she thought his butt was cute, she was going to let herself admire it.  
  
A smile spread across her face as she gathered her things to take a shower. She silently wondered what Nick would think if he knew she was ogling his rear. Not that she was about to tell him. It was one thing to admit to herself that she might be attracted to him, it was completely another to admit it to him. Besides, she still had nearly two weeks to explore what all of this meant before they had to return to Vegas. 


	15. Chapter 15

Sara watched Nick with amusement as he loaded Chelsea's minivan with several bags. He glanced over at her and smiled. "What's so funny?"  
  
She gestured toward the van. "You're packing like we're going on an expedition instead of to the zoo."  
  
He grinned. "Have you ever gone to the zoo with a three year old before?"  
  
She shook her head. "No."  
  
He chuckled. "Trust me, it's better to be safe than sorry."  
  
Sara still didn't quite understand why they needed to bring so much stuff. How hard could one kid be?  
  
She found out soon enough. They were halfway around the zoo, at the farthest point from the parking lot when Fiona decided she was done with walking. Nick passed off the backpack he'd been carrying around to Sara and hoisted Fiona up onto his shoulders. Not having to use her legs, Fiona seemed to get a second wind. Every time they approached a new animal exhibit, she bounced up and down on Nick's shoulders and he would have to grip her legs so her heels wouldn't dig into his chest.  
  
"Fiona, honey, Uncle Nicky's not made of steel." Nick's patience was beginning to wear a little thin on how many times he'd been kicked in the chest. His neck, which was already stiff when they started out, was getting even sorer the way she kept moving around on his shoulders.  
  
Sara watched them with amusement. Sara had never seen Nick interact with any children other than Catherine's daughter Lindsey. He was really good with kids and despite the fact that at the moment he seemed to be a bit uncomfortable he was much more patient than she would be in the same situation. She would never have offered to cart Fiona around on her shoulders in the first place.  
  
"Unca Nicky?" There was a slight edge of panic in Fiona's voice.  
  
"Yeah?" Nick tried to look up at his niece without much success.  
  
"I gotta go potty." The way she was squirming around, it looked like she had to go badly.  
  
"Can you hold it a little bit longer?" Nick queried her as he glanced around hoping to spy a restroom.  
  
"Uh, uh." Fiona's panic edged up a notch as she shook her head.  
  
Sara wasn't sure what to do. She looked around hoping to spot a restroom, to no avail.  
  
"Uh, Fiona, just a little longer, we need to find the bathroom." Nick decided he'd better just walk, hoping to find one along the way.  
  
Sara looked at the map of the zoo which she'd gotten at the entrance to make sure they didn't miss an exhibit. "Hey, there should be one up ahead."  
  
"I gotta go potty, Unca Nicky." Fiona looked like she was about to cry.  
  
"There it is." Nick pointed and Sara was prepared to take the little girl into the restroom when the expression on Nick's face suddenly changed.  
  
"I'm sorry, Unca Nicky. I hadda go bad." Fiona looked very apologetic, but relieved at the same time.  
  
Nick meanwhile had felt instantaneous warmth down the back of his shirt. He let out a deep sigh and pulled Fiona off of his shoulders, setting her on the ground and crouching down to meet her at eye level. "Do you think you can let Sara help you change your clothes?"  
  
She nodded and wrinkled her nose. "I'm sorry, Unca Nicky."  
  
He smiled at her. "I know, honey. Uncle Nicky needs to go buy a new shirt while Sara helps you change, ok?"  
  
She nodded. "Ok."  
  
Nick glanced up at Sara. "There's a change of clothes for her in the backpack." He grinned and stood up, gesturing toward his shirt. "I'm just going to go get a new shirt at the gift shop. I didn't think to pack extra clothes for myself."  
  
Sara looked somewhat amused as she reached for Fiona's hand. "Let's go get you cleaned up."  
  
Fiona skipped next to Sara as they made their way to the restroom.  
  
Thankfully, there was a gift shop near the restroom. Nick looked around for a few moments before making a selection. The cashier gave him a knowing smile as Nick paid for his purchase.  
  
When Sara and Fiona emerged from the restroom, Nick stood there waiting, sporting his new zoo T-shirt, his other shirt in his hand. As they approached him, Sara raised her eyebrow and quipped. "Nice shirt."  
  
He grinned a little too wide. "Glad you like it. If I have to wear one, so do you two." He held out a bag bearing the zoo logo.  
  
Sara reached inside and smirked. "You bought us all matching T-shirts."  
  
Fiona's eyes widened. "I got one too?" She looked very excited.  
  
Nick nodded and grinned at his niece. "Yes, you got one too."  
  
"Sara! Sara! I got a T-shirt too!" Fiona was jumping up and down, pulling on Sara's hand.  
  
Nick gestured toward the restroom. "Go put them on. I'm not wearing this alone." Nick's shirt had a caricature of an elephant facing forward on the front.  
  
Sara smirked. "Do you have a problem with supporting wildlife?"  
  
Nick smirked back. "No, I don't, but I feel a little stupid wearing a shirt with the elephant's rear view on the back." He turned around to show her the back of the shirt, which had a caricature of the back view of the elephant.  
  
"Unca Nicky, Mommy said 'stupid' is a bad word." Fiona's eyebrows had shot up in surprise at Nick's choice of words.  
  
He tried to look sheepish to keep from laughing. "Sorry, honey. Uncle Nicky feels a little silly."  
  
"He is silly isn't he?" Sara gestured toward him, a wide grin on her face as she spoke to Fiona.  
  
Fiona looked up at Sara and started to giggle. "Unca Nicky is silly." She looked at Nick and continued to giggle. "You're silly, Unca Nicky."  
  
Nick gestured toward the restroom. "Hey, I may be silly, but you're not getting out of putting those shirts on. Go on now." He was trying to restrain his laughter.  
  
Sara smirked at him and headed back into the restroom with Fiona to change their shirts. They emerged a few minutes later sporting the new T-shirts. Nick stowed their other clothes into the backpack before slinging it over one shoulder.  
  
"I wanna hold your hand, Unca Nicky!" Fiona grinned at Nick.  
  
He chuckled and took her hand. "Ok."  
  
Fiona grinned at Sara. "I wanna hold your hand too, Sara!"  
  
Sara laughed softly and took the little girl's hand. "Ready to see the rest of the zoo?"  
  
"Yeah!" Fiona cried with glee.  
  
As Fiona swung between them, Nick glanced over at Sara and smiled. He was very glad she'd come to Dallas. 


	16. Chapter 16

It had been a long day. Fiona had lost steam and fallen asleep in Nick's arms somewhere between the elephants and the petting zoo, so Nick and Sara had decided to call it a day.  
  
When they had arrived back at the house, Chelsea had just returned from picking the boys up from school. With a firm voice, she had made Aiden and Conner apologize to Nick for taking the mattress out of the hide-a-bed.  
  
Conner's lip quivered. "I'm sorry, Uncle Nick." He glanced at his brother and then back at Nick. "It was Aiden's idea."  
  
"No it wasn't, Conner." Aiden slugged his brother in the arm.  
  
Chelsea narrowed her gaze at the two boys. "To your rooms. NOW!" Her patience had worn through.  
  
The boys made a beeline for the house and ran, still arguing about whose idea stealing the mattress was.  
  
It was all Nick could do to not laugh.  
  
"How long has she been asleep?" Chelsea turned her attention to Nick who held a still sleeping Fiona.  
  
He thought about it for a minute and then turned to Sara. "What would you say? About an hour?"  
  
Sara nodded. "We were near the petting zoo around two and she fell asleep before that."  
  
Chelsea stepped forward and took Fiona out of Nick's arms. "I might as well let her sleep. Kevin and I are taking the kids over to Mom and Dad's so we can go to dinner with his boss. We'll probably be home pretty late."  
  
"Uh, Nick and I could watch them." Sara offered.  
  
Nick and Chelsea both looked at her with surprise.  
  
"What?" Sara looked at them curiously.  
  
Chelsea looked at her with a completely serious expression. "Sara, I like you. There's no way I'm letting you do that. You might never speak to Nick again." The tiniest flicker of a smile flashed across her face.  
  
"No, really, Fiona was fine. How hard can two more be?" Sara was completely serious.  
  
Nick started laughing.  
  
Sara shot him a curious stare.  
  
Chelsea smiled. ''As much as I appreciate the offer, Sara, my boys are no angels. There's a reason that no teenager in the neighborhood will baby- sit them after football season is over."  
  
Nick chortled. "You bribe them with Cowboy's tickets?"  
  
Chelsea let out a sigh. "Whatever works." She finally noticed the matching shirts that Nick, Sara, and Fiona were wearing. "What's with the elephant shirts?"  
  
Nick gestured towards Sara. "Someone had a little accident when I was carrying her on my shoulders."  
  
Sara smacked Nick on the arm and smirked at him.  
  
"Sara, incontinence is nothing to be ashamed of." Nick was enjoying teasing Sara.  
  
Chelsea chuckled and looked at Nick apologetically. "Sorry I should have warned you that when she says she's got to go, you've got about thirty seconds."  
  
"Thanks for the warning, Chels." Nick teased.  
  
Sara raised an eyebrow at Nick. "You're pretty sassy for someone who smells."  
  
Nick's eyebrows shot up. "What do you mean I smell?"  
  
Sara crossed her arms in front of her body and looked at him with amusement. "Do I need to spell it out for you?"  
  
Chelsea stepped toward him and sniffed. She glanced at Sara and smiled. "She's right, you do smell."  
  
"Maybe you should take a shower." Sara suggested.  
  
"That's good idea." Chelsea smiled conspiratorially at Sara. "I'm sure it's safe, that cheerleader from high school lives in Georgia now."  
  
Nick chuckled. "I told Sara the pieces of that story that you left out."  
  
Chelsea raised a doubtful eyebrow. "All the details? Even, you know?"  
  
Nick just grinned and nodded. "Even that."  
  
Chelsea glanced at Sara and grinned. "I'd better go put Fiona down." She turned and disappeared down the hallway.  
  
Nick raised a single eyebrow. "Do I really smell?"  
  
Sara's lips twitched into a smile. "Maybe a little."  
  
Nick reached up and rubbed his neck, wincing slightly. "Maybe a shower would help this out too."  
  
"Sore?" Sara asked with concern.  
  
He nodded. "Yeah, and having Fiona bouncing on my shoulders like that didn't help either." They headed downstairs toward the apartment.  
  
"I could give you a neck massage." Sara offered.  
  
Nick looked a little surprised. "Are you serious?"  
  
Sara nodded as they entered the apartment. "I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't. You look like you're in pain, and I've been told I give a pretty good massage."  
  
Nick grinned. "You're on then." 


	17. Chapter 17

"You know if this CSI thing doesn't work out for you, you could have a very lucrative career as a masseuse." Nick was very relaxed as he lay face down on the living room floor of the apartment in his jeans and T-shirt.  
  
Sara laughed. "You're just saying that because I've got you pinned down." She was sitting on his butt massaging his back, neck, and shoulders.  
  
Nick smiled. "I'm enjoying this far too much to argue with you."  
  
"Still, I should keep that in mind in case I ever quit." Sara stated, continuing to kneed away at Nick's neck.  
  
Nick's eyes were closed. "You'd never quit. You too damn good at what you do."  
  
Sara was quiet for a few moments. "How do you know I'd never quit?"  
  
Nick opened his eyes. "I don't know, it just never occurred to me that you would ever want to."  
  
"Do you ever think about quitting?" Sara queried him.  
  
"Sometimes, usually after an especially hard case." Nick confessed.  
  
"Well then, why would you think I would never quit? You're one of the best CSIs I know, and you've thought about it." Sara was frustrated at the way Nick's T-shirt kept bunching up underneath her hands.  
  
"You just need to find a distraction outside of work." Nick suggested.  
  
Sara only half heard him. "Nick, this isn't working too well. Take your shirt off."  
  
"You're going to have to help me then, I seem to have someone sitting on my butt." Nick quipped.  
  
Sara smirked as she began to tug at the hem of his shirt. "Are you trying to say that I'm too heavy?"  
  
Nick chuckled as he tugged at the top of his T-shirt. "Not on your life."  
  
"Good." Sara was sliding the T-shirt up, her hands skimming his sides when the door to the apartment opened.  
  
Nick and Sara glanced up to reveal a very surprised and amused Chelsea. "Uh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."  
  
"You're not interrupting anything." Nick replied knowing exactly where Chelsea's mind was headed.  
  
Chelsea raised a doubtful eyebrow. "Sure."  
  
Sara bit her lip to keep from smiling. If she was in Chelsea's shoes, she'd probably be thinking the same thing. The situation did look a bit compromising. She was sitting on Nick helping him take his shirt off. Why wouldn't Chelsea get the wrong idea?  
  
Nick sounded slightly amused and slightly annoyed. "Did you need something, Chels?"  
  
Chelsea had a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Oh, I just wanted to let you know that we're leaving and that the keys to the Miata are on the kitchen counter. But from the looks of things, you probably won't need them."  
  
Nick raised a cautionary eyebrow. "Chels."  
  
Chelsea smirked and whispered in a conspiratorial tone. "Don't worry, we'll be out really late, you have the whole house to yourselves, so you can make as much noise as you want."  
  
Sara wanted to die.  
  
Nick wanted to kill Chelsea.  
  
"Bye. Have fun." Chelsea smiled and waved before closing the door.  
  
Nick pulled the shirt the rest of the way over his head as he let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm going to kill her."  
  
Sara rolled off of Nick and onto her back on the floor next to him and let out a sigh. "Even we can't hide all the evidence."  
  
Nick propped himself up on his elbows and looked over at her. "You do realize what this means don't you?"  
  
Sara raised her eyebrow curiously. "I'm not sure I want to know."  
  
"I'm going to predict that by the time they get home, Chelsea will have called Andrea, Amy, Megan, and Grace and they'll all think that not only are we not just friends, but that we're having wild sex in every room in the house." He looked at her apologetically.  
  
Sara wasn't sure what to say.  
  
"I'm sorry, Sara, you didn't sign up for this when I invited you to come to Dallas." Nick was hoping that she wouldn't want to go home.  
  
A smile flitted across her face. "It could be worse."  
  
Nick narrowed his gaze at her and smiled. "How?"  
  
She smirked. "I could have been the one with my shirt off."  
  
Nick started to laugh.  
  
Sara's eyebrows shot up. "Do you find that funny?"  
  
Nick tried to swallow a smile. "No, definitely not funny."  
  
"Then what?" Sara challenged him.  
  
Nick thought for a moment how to phrase his words. "Well, if I was ever fortunate enough to be in a position to see you with your shirt off, I sure as hell would make sure that it was somewhere that my sister couldn't walk in on us."  
  
A hint of color rushed into Sara's cheeks. "So, you'd find yourself fortunate, huh?"  
  
Nick chuckled softly. "Yes, I would. You're one of the sexiest women that I know."  
  
Sara smiled as she looked at him. "You're pretty sexy yourself."  
  
They just lay there for a few minutes looking at each other, not quite sure what to do; not sure if they should do anything.  
  
Nick broke the silence. "Hey, do you want to go out and get something to eat?"  
  
Sara grinned. "Yeah, that sounds like fun."  
  
Nick grinned back at her. "Good. I know this great place. You'll love it." He pushed himself up off of the carpet and offered her a hand up.  
  
As she stood, Sara suddenly became very aware of his bare chest staring at her, or was it she that was staring at it? Nick had suggested that she needed to find a distraction outside of work, well at the moment, his chest was doing a nice job. She glanced up at him and smiled, suddenly feeling the need to go in the other room as she found his lips nearly as distracting as his chest. "Uh, I'm just going to go change."  
  
Nick nodded. "Uh, yeah, me too." He needed to find a shirt to wear, and something to get his mind off of how incredibly sexy he was finding Sara at that moment. 


	18. Chapter 18

For whatever reason, Sara felt very much like she and Nick were on a date. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she'd taken far longer to change her clothes than she would have normally if she was just going to go hang out with Nick. She changed her mind three times about what she was going to wear and then decided that she was trying too hard. She finally settled on a pair of black low rise slacks and a ribbed burgundy v-necked sweater.  
  
Nick seemed to have put equal effort into what he wore as well. The charcoal gray ribbed sweater and black slacks accentuated his well muscled physique.  
  
Sara detected a hint of cologne, something that she never smelled on him when they worked. Yes, it definitely felt like a date.  
  
Nick threaded the Miata through the early evening traffic. He stole the occasional glance at Sara and couldn't help but smile. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was definitely changing between them. He didn't think that either one of them was ready to articulate anything to that effect, but he could feel it, and from the way Sara looked, he could tell that she did too.  
  
Nick had told Sara that he wanted to take her to his favorite Mexican restaurant. Javier's wasn't just a Mexican restaurant. With its red brick walls and dim lighting, it had a cozy rustic feel to it and the food was definitely worthy of its reputation as one of the better Mexican restaurants in Dallas.  
  
They bantered constantly over dinner, smiling, laughing, and teasing each other. Sara only made a mild protest when Nick insisted that he pick up the bill. Sara couldn't help but smile when she thought back to a conversation she'd had with Nick the first year she was in Vegas. He had made a big deal that he liked going 'Dutch' when he went out on dates. She wondered silently to herself where things were heading between them because it seemed that they were beginning to move away from the realm of 'just friends' into uncharted territory.  
  
As they left the restaurant, Nick didn't want to head back to Chelsea's. He glanced over at Sara as she buckled her seatbelt and smiled. "Do you want to go see a movie?"  
  
She nodded, a little too enthusiastically she thought. "Yeah, only I have no idea even what's playing."  
  
"Me either." He grinned at her. "Let's just live on the edge and wing it."  
  
By the time they got to the theater the only thing playing without a long wait was 'Along Came Polly'. Despite the fact that they had just eaten, Nick bought an enormous tub of popcorn. As the movie progressed, they drifted closer together; their hands occasionally touching until Nick finally gave up any pretense and took Sara's hand in his. Sara leaned against him smiling, wondering to herself where things were going and where they should be going. She had to resist the urge to overanalyze things, instead trying to just enjoy the simple sensation of Nick holding her hand. They might not have called it a date, but it had all the earmarks of one.  
  
When the lights came up, they stood up to leave, slowly filing out still holding hands. They were in the lobby when they heard someone call out.  
  
"Uncle Nick!" The voice of a teenage girl caused Nick to stop in his tracks and turn around. It didn't even occur to him to let go of Sara's hand.  
  
"Savannah." Nick grinned at his sixteen year old niece. "You here by yourself?"  
  
She shook her head, smiling as she noticed Nick and Sara still holding hands. "No, Maggie's here too." She couldn't contain a giggle as she leaned toward Nick. "We're on a double date."  
  
To Sara's amusement, Nick donned a stern fatherly expression. "Do your mom and dad know you're here?"  
  
Savannah rolled her eyes. "Of course, they're the ones who drove us here."  
  
"Isn't it a school night?" Nick queried. Sara couldn't help but chuckle softly. Just at that moment, it occurred to Nick that he was still holding Sara's hand. If word got back to his sister Amy through Savannah, it was a sure bet that Andrea, Grace, Megan, and Chelsea wouldn't be too far behind.  
  
"The teachers have one of those in service days tomorrow, so we get the day off." She smiled a bit too brightly. "So, Uncle Nick, are you and Sara on a date?"  
  
A bit of panic crossed Nick's face as he glanced at Sara, questioning her silently about what she wanted to call this outing. She just squeezed his hand. He smiled at her. "We were just watching a movie."  
  
Sara tried to swallow a smile.  
  
Just then, Savannah's twin Magnolia walked up with two teenage boys in tow which Nick assumed were their dates. Magnolia smiled brightly as she noticed Savannah talking to Nick. "Hi, Uncle Nick!"  
  
"Maggie." Nick grinned.  
  
Magnolia's eyebrows shot up in surprise and a wide smile spread across her face when she noticed that Nick was holding Sara's hand. "Oh my goodness! Mom is going to be so excited when she finds out you two are dating!"  
  
"Uh, we're not exactly dating." Nick replied, glancing at Sara who just squeezed his hand. "We're going to get going. I'll see you girls later." He glanced at the teenage boys. "And you boys better behave yourselves, you hear?"  
  
As they walked toward the car, still holding hands, Nick turned toward Sara. "I'm sorry they put you on the spot like that. I didn't know what to say, and I'm pretty sure that before we get back to Chelsea's everyone's going to know what we did tonight."  
  
Sara smiled and held up their linked hands as evidence. "I'm pretty sure they're going to think we were on a date."  
  
Nick gave her a sheepish smile and squeezed her hand. "I guess this was a dead giveaway."  
  
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Do I look like I mind?"  
  
Nick tilted his head slightly and laughed softly. "Now that you mention it, no, you don't look like you mind."  
  
"You're very observant." Sara chuckled in amusement.  
  
When they arrived back at Chelsea's there was a bit of an awkward moment as they stood in the living room of the basement apartment trying to figure out what was next.  
  
Sara smiled softly at Nick and stepped toward him. "Hey, I had a really good time." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks."  
  
He grinned at her and leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm glad. I had a good time too."  
  
She gestured toward the bedroom. "I think I'm going to get some sleep."  
  
"Uh, yeah, I should probably pull the hide-a-bed out." Nick gestured toward the couch.  
  
Sara smiled. "Ok, I'll see you in the morning."  
  
"Sleep well." Nick smiled.  
  
Sara disappeared into the bedroom and changed into her pajamas before climbing into bed. The events of the evening played over in her head. It took a long time before she drifted off to sleep as her thoughts turned toward Nick sleeping just in the other room.  
  
Nick too had a hard time falling asleep. He kept thinking about Sara in the other room and wondering what she would do if he gave her the kind of kiss he wanted to and whether that was really a good idea. He knew that once that line was crossed it would change everything between them. 


	19. Chapter 19

Nick woke with a start. He had had the same dream all night long, or least the ending was the same each time. He had dreamed about Sara, but every time he had tried to kiss her, someone in his family would interrupt them. He yawned as he sat up and ran his fingers through his hair, glancing over at the clock on the wall to see what time it was. It was still early, but late enough that getting up wasn't out of the question. He climbed off of the hide-a-bed and decided to see if Sara was awake.  
  
Sara heard a soft tap at the bedroom door. She smiled as she hugged her pillow and in a sleepy voice she called out. "Come in."  
  
Nick slowly cracked the door open and poked his head in. He couldn't help but smile at her rumpled sleepy appearance. "Hey."  
  
She yawned. "Hey, yourself." She tried to restrain a smile as she took in his mussed hair and the stubble on his face as he stood there in his T- shirt and boxers.  
  
"Did you sleep ok?" Nick asked her curiously.  
  
Sara stretched and then hugged the pillow a bit tighter. She smiled. "Yeah, how about you?"  
  
"Fair enough." He replied. "Want to go get some coffee?"  
  
"Can I bring the pillow?" Sara quipped. Normally, she didn't sleep much, but she had actually begun to relax here in Dallas and was enjoying not having to get up at any particular time.  
  
Nick winked. "I hear they have overstuffed chairs at Starbucks now."  
  
She giggled. "Ok, I'll get up." She sat up and tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes, letting out a yawn. "What time is it anyway?"  
  
Nick looked a little sheepish. "Seven."  
  
Sara smirked knowingly. "You didn't sleep very well, did you?"  
  
"It might have taken me a little while to get to sleep." He admitted with a soft smile.  
  
Sara smiled and slid out of bed. "Me too."  
  
Nick grinned at her admission. He gestured toward the living room. "I'm just going to throw some clothes on, and then we can go."  
  
Sara ran her fingers through her hair and scrunched her nose up. "Ok, just give me a couple of minutes." Sara quickly donned a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, opting to put a hat on rather than try and do anything with her hair. To her amusement when she emerged, she found Nick similarly dressed.  
  
A short while later, they were sitting in overstuffed chairs at the local Starbucks sipping coffee and debating whether or not to split a scone or go somewhere else for a real breakfast once they finished their coffee.  
  
Sara smiled over at Nick. "I had a really good time last night."  
  
"I did too. I'm really glad you're here." Nick felt a flutter of nerves in his stomach as he considered what he wanted to say. They shared a companionable silence for a few minutes and then Nick nervously cleared his throat. "I think maybe we should talk about this."  
  
Sara studied him for a moment before she responded. "Ok."  
  
Nick looked outwardly nervous, what he was about to say felt very risky, yet at the same time, he wanted to see where things with Sara might go. "I don't think that I'm being presumptuous am I when I say that I think things between us are changing?"  
  
Sara simply shook her head. "No, you're not being presumptuous, I think they are too."  
  
His expression was earnest. "I know that my family has made it really clear by their antics that they want us together."  
  
A tiny smile flickered across Sara's face. She took a sip from her coffee and let him continue.  
  
"I want to see where things with us might go, but I just feel like they might be pushing a little too hard." Nick wasn't sure that he was saying what he meant very clearly.  
  
Sara looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?" She felt a nervous flutter in the pit of her stomach.  
  
"I don't want us to get back to Vegas and feel like we've made a mistake." Nick felt like he was fumbling with his words.  
  
Sara looked confused. "Do you think if we got together it would be a mistake?" She didn't want to jump to conclusions, but she thought she was pretty sure about the direction things were headed based on the previous evening that they'd shared.  
  
He let out a deep breath and took her hand. "That's not what I'm saying."  
  
Sara furrowed her brow. "Then what are you saying? I'm a little confused."  
  
"I'm not very good at this." Nick stammered.  
  
"Very good at what?" Sara wasn't following him.  
  
He squeezed her hand and continued. "Chelsea's been doing everything in her power to push us together. What if we got back to Vegas and realized that the only reason we got together was because of her and the rest of my sisters?"  
  
"Is that what you're afraid of?" Sara was trying to clarify.  
  
"Sort of." Nick looked serious. "They just have a way of putting a spin on things that doesn't allow you to think clearly."  
  
Sara chuckled softly. "She certainly did get the wrong idea last night."  
  
Nick's eyebrows shot up and he smiled. "See what I mean?"  
  
Sara ventured tentatively, meeting his gaze. "Maybe she can see something we can't."  
  
"Maybe she can, but she needs to give us time to see it. I think we need to give us time to see it." Nick caressed the back of her hand with his thumb.  
  
She couldn't help but smile as she looked at Nick's hand holding hers. She looked back into his eyes. "So what do you propose we do?"  
  
He smiled at her. "I want to go down to the Gulf Coast earlier than we planned. I want to spend some time with you without my family sticking their noses into our business. I want to try and kiss you and know that no one is going to walk in on us. I want to see if what's happening here is because of them or if it's something real."  
  
Sara was quiet for a long moment as she studied him and considered his words, trying hard not to fixate on the fact that he'd said he wanted to kiss her. She took another sip from her coffee. He looked nervous and she could tell that she was the reason why he hadn't slept well the night before. She smiled, locking eyes with a very nervous Nick. "When do you want to leave?"  
  
Nick couldn't keep the grin from spreading across his face. "I need to get the keys to the condo from my parents and I need to make sure Chelsea doesn't need the Miata, but I was thinking about this afternoon." 


	20. Chapter 20

When Nick had informed Chelsea that he and Sara were leaving for the Gulf earlier than they planned, her expression was unreadable. Nick wasn't sure if he'd thrown her for a loop or disappointed her that he wasn't going to let her watch while he and Sara figured out how they felt about each other. She had gladly lent them the Miata for the trip and couldn't help but smile when Nick had informed her that they would be back in time for Fiona's third birthday party.  
  
Nick and Sara were three hours into their drive to the condo that his parents had on South Padre Island and Sara could see him visibly relaxing the further they got from Dallas. The silence in the car was comfortable and Sara began wondering about Nick and his family and what had caused him to move away from them in the first place. Surely it wasn't just because his sisters were intent on getting him married off, they obviously loved him and he loved them. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice him glancing over at her with a wide grin.  
  
"What are you thinking?" He chuckled softly.  
  
She smiled at him. "Just wondering what made you leave Dallas."  
  
Nick let out a sigh. "I needed a fresh start."  
  
Sara didn't want to push him, but she was curious exactly what he meant by that. She tried to keep things light in case he didn't want to talk about it just then. "Not that your sisters wouldn't be reason enough." There was a teasing tone in her voice.  
  
He chuckled. "There's more truth to that than you know."  
  
Sara looked a little surprised. "Really?"  
  
He nodded. "Yeah. I don't know if anyone in Vegas even knows this, but I was almost engaged once."  
  
"What happened?" Sara queried, curious that she hadn't known this about Nick.  
  
"When I was a CSI with the Dallas Police Department, I started seeing this gal that I'd known in high school. She was working as a lab tech and when my sisters caught wind of our relationship, they started pressuring us. Every chance they got they tried something to try and push things ahead, and for a while it worked. I even put a down payment on a ring before I had a chance to step back and think about how I really felt." Nick had a mixture of frustration and hurt on his face.  
  
Sara voice was soft as she questioned him. "What made you step back?"  
  
He smiled at her before he continued. "I went to a seminar in Vegas on forensic entomology for continuing education credit. I met Grissom and learned that there was an opening at the lab for a CSI. By the time the seminar was over, I'd applied for the job and decided that when I returned to Dallas that I was going to break things off with Becky. She didn't take it well and I ended up losing a very good friend."  
  
A realization dawn on Sara and she turned toward Nick. "Are you afraid that the same thing might happen with us if we start seeing each other?" She bit her lip nervously.  
  
He sighed as he looked at her and reached over and took her hand. "Yeah, I am afraid, but I also know that my feelings for you are changing and I want to see if seeing each other might be the right thing. I just don't want them to interfere in something that's between you and me. You're too important to me to lose your friendship if we decide that this isn't right for us."  
  
Sara squeezed his hand. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm afraid too."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"You didn't mention that there was a view." Sara turned and looked at Nick a bit incredulously.  
  
He couldn't help but grin at her. "I wanted to see your face when you saw it."  
  
"How long have your parents had this place?" Sara asked as she turned her attention back to the large windows overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.  
  
"A few years. They used to bring us down here a couple times a year when I was a kid and they finally decided that they wanted a vacation place down here." Nick explained coming up behind her as she stood by the sliding glass door.  
  
Sara opened the door and stepped out onto the deck. She closed her eyes and inhaled the salt air. "The smell reminds of Tamales Bay."  
  
Nick placed his hands on her shoulders as he stood behind her. "It's pretty isn't it?"  
  
Sara opened her eyes and turned around smiling. "Yeah, it is. Thank you so much for inviting me to come to Texas." She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him.  
  
Nick put his arms around her and held onto her for a few moments. "I'm glad you're here."  
  
She stepped back and studied him with a mischievous grin.  
  
Nick chuckled nervously. "What?"  
  
She tilted her head slightly. "You said something this morning."  
  
Nick mulled over all that he had said to her that day, but couldn't put his finger on what she might be referring to. "What did I say?"  
  
Sara looked coy. "You don't remember?"  
  
Nick furrowed his brow. "I said a lot of things."  
  
Sara smirked, trying not to laugh. "I thought you'd remember this."  
  
Nick looked sheepish. "Could you give me a clue?"  
  
Sara pursed her lips and crossed her arms in front of her body. "You said it was something you wanted to try."  
  
Nick started to chuckle and glanced at the ground before looking at her. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"  
  
Sara looked amused. "You didn't mean to?"  
  
Nick reached over and brushed her hair off of her face, gently tucking it behind her ear. "Sara, I don't want to force it, I want it to just happen."  
  
"But you do want to kiss me." She wanted to clarify what she'd heard him say earlier.  
  
He grinned. "Yes, I want to kiss you. Just not quite yet."  
  
She fingered the buttons on his shirt. "Why not?"  
  
He looked at her with a serious expression. "Because unless we decide that we want to see each other, I don't want to cross that line."  
  
Sara shot him a doubtful expression and cut to the chase. "Nick, we've been dancing around this issue of seeing each other since last night. At some point we need to just stop talking and analyzing and just do something about it because I want to try this and I'm pretty damn sure you do too."  
  
Nick was slightly taken aback at Sara's forcefulness. Usually, she would be the one analyzing every angle of a situation before acting, and here he was the one holding back when normally he'd barrel ahead without really thinking through all the consequences. His voice was soft. "You're right. I do want to try this. I'm just scared that I'll lose you."  
  
Sara's hands rested flat against his chest. "I'm scared too, but we could miss out on something amazing if we don't try."  
  
"You're right." Nick whispered, leaning towards her and softly touching his lips to hers. 


	21. Chapter 21

The kiss was soft and sweet and when they broke apart, Nick was smiling. "I don't think until right now that I realized just how long I've wanted to do that."  
  
A wide grin spread across Sara's face, her arms were wrapped loosely around his neck. "Just how long?"  
  
Nick looked into Sara's eyes, his hands resting on her waist. "About three and a half years."  
  
Sara looked at him a bit incredulously. "Really."  
  
He nodded. "I just never thought I'd get the chance."  
  
"I might have thought about it once or twice myself." Sara smirked.  
  
Nick raised an eyebrow. "Once or twice, huh?"  
  
Sara nodded eyeing his lips. "Ok, so maybe a few more times than that."  
  
Nick leaned in and kissed her again, a little longer than the first time.  
  
Sara's voice was a little husky as they broke apart. "Ok, so I think I've wanted to do that for quite a while too."  
  
Nick chuckled. "I think my sister might be right."  
  
Sara looked at him quizzically, her mind still on the kiss they had just shared.  
  
"Denial. You and me." Nick looked amused by the effect the kiss was having on her.  
  
She smiled. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure we were both in denial." Sara leaned up and kissed Nick again.  
  
As they pulled apart, Nick rested his forehead against Sara's. "This feels so strange and so good at the same time."  
  
Sara's fingers played at the nape of his neck. "I know; we've been friends so long that kissing you is indescribable."  
  
"This is pretty amazing." Nick agreed. "Weird, but amazing."  
  
"It's going to take a little getting used to." Sara confessed.  
  
"Yeah." Nick smiled and stepped out of the embrace, taking her hand in his. "Hey, let's get out of here for a little while; I want to show you something."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"So this is why you know so much about birds." Sara laughed as she and Nick walked hand in hand along the boardwalk of the Laguna Madre Nature Trail.  
  
"And all of you tease me because you think I watch the Discovery Channel too much." Nick quipped.  
  
She smirked. "You do watch the Discovery Channel a lot."  
  
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and you don't?"  
  
She giggled. "Ok, so I like watching 'The New Detectives'."  
  
Nick came to a stop and squeezed Sara's hand to get her attention. "Shh, there's a Great Blue Heron over there." He pointed with his other hand toward a large bird walking carefully through the water in search of fish near the shore.  
  
They watched the bird for a few minutes and then Sara squeezed his hand. "So you and your dad used to come down here?"  
  
He smiled at her. "Yeah, some male bonding time away from my mom and all the girls. We sort of had a competition to see who could find the most birds."  
  
"So who won?" Sara smirked.  
  
Nick chuckled. "I think my dad let me win most of the time. He was more interested in spending time together than winning. We haven't been here together in a long time."  
  
"How come?" Sara sensed a bit of regret in Nick's voice.  
  
He looked at her and softly smiled. "Life just gets a little crazy sometimes and as I got older, we both just got busier. I think by the time I was in high school I was more interesting in watching girls than watching birds."  
  
Sara laughed. "Really? That seems so unlike you."  
  
Noting the sarcasm in her voice, Nick snaked his arms around her waist. "Besides, girls are easier to catch."  
  
Sara giggled as Nick started tickling her. "Nick, you're scaring all the birds away."  
  
"You're the one making noise." He teased as he continued to tickle her.  
  
"Nick!" Sara was squirming around trying to get him to stop tickling her.  
  
"Those people over there are looking at us, Sara, you need to be quiet. I think you just scared away a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker." Nick was having far too much fun teasing her.  
  
"Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, my foot." Sara giggled. "I bet there's no such thing." She finally got a hold of Nick's hands.  
  
He looked amused. "Oh, yes there is. There's one on the tree behind you."  
  
"I'm not falling for that." She narrowed her gaze at him and smirked.  
  
He looked smug. "Oh, but you fell for this." He grinned at her as he leaned over and kissed her.  
  
Sara smiled against his lips and leaned into him. Breaking apart she grinned at him. "I wish you would have done that last night."  
  
Nick looked a little surprised. "You would have let me kiss you last night?"  
  
Sara nodded. "Yeah, but I'm sure if you had, your sister would have walked in."  
  
Nick chuckled. "She probably would have."  
  
"What do you think she'd say if she could see us?" Sara asked as they stepped apart.  
  
Nick put his arm around Sara's shoulder and they continued walking on the boardwalk trail. "She'd say 'I told you so'." He looked over at her and smiled. "She's going to have a heyday with this when we get back up to Dallas."  
  
"What do you think is going to happen when we get back to Vegas?" She wrapped an arm around his waist as they walked.  
  
Nick laughed. "Something tells me that none of them are going to be very surprised. I don't know about you, but I got the third degree when everyone found out you were coming with me."  
  
"I got it too." She giggled and glanced up at him. "Were we really that blind?"  
  
"Apparently." Nick grinned and then stopped, pointing toward the water. "Look, it's a Black-bellied Whistling Duck." 


	22. Chapter 22

Nick and Sara went out to dinner after they had finished their walk along the nature trail. As the meal progressed, Nick seemed to withdraw more and more and by the time they headed back to the condo after stopping at a video store to rent a movie, he was completely lost in thought.  
  
As they entered the condo, Sara turned and studied him for a moment. She walked over and placed a hand on his arm. "Hey, are you ok? You're awfully quiet."  
  
The expression on his face seemed lost. He didn't know how to respond to her question.  
  
Concern flickered across Sara's face. "What's going on?  
  
He let out a deep sigh and walked over to the couch, running his hands through his hair. "I don't know." He looked up at her with a guarded expression. "I think this is just freaking me out."  
  
Hurt flashed across Sara's face. "You don't want to do this; do you?"  
  
Nick looked at her as if she'd slapped him across the face. "Sara, I didn't say that."  
  
She crossed her arms in front of her body in a defensive gesture. "You didn't have to."  
  
"Sara." Nick's eyes pleaded with her.  
  
Sara felt very vulnerable. "Stop." She raised a hand to emphasize her words. "You don't think that accepting your invitation to come to Dallas didn't freak me out? Or how about meeting your entire family all at once? Oh, and what about your nephew asking me why I wasn't in love with you?"  
  
"Sara. I." Nick tried to interrupt.  
  
Sara shook her head. "No, Nick, listen to me." She let out a frustrated sigh. "Dating you scares the hell out of me. This is risky for me too. You're one of my best friends, and unlike you, I don't have a lot of friends."  
  
"I'm afraid of losing you." Nick whispered.  
  
"You don't think that I'm not afraid of losing you?" Sara looked at him incredulously.  
  
"I didn't say that." Nick didn't know how to explain to Sara what he was feeling.  
  
Sara just shook her head. "I don't know how to get through that thick skull of yours that despite the fact that being in Texas with you scares the hell out of me, I haven't left. I'm here because you're here and I want to be with you. I want to be with you, Nick. Don't you understand that? I'm willing to risk our friendship because I think there just might be something between us that's worth it. It's taken me a long time and your sister's nosiness for me to figure that out, but I want to try."  
  
He didn't say anything. He just stared at her with his mouth slightly agape.  
  
"You need to figure out what you want before things go any further. If you don't want to be with me, I need to know that." The expression on her face was dead serious. "I'm going to bed. Let me know what you decide in the morning." With that she turned and headed into one of the bedrooms and closed the door.  
  
Nick just stared toward the closed door. He was completely perplexed by what had just happened. He wanted to be with Sara more than he could possibly express, but somewhere between dinner and renting the movie, he'd let his fear get the best of him.  
  
He pulled himself off of the couch and went out and stood on the deck, just staring out at the Gulf. So many memories of his childhood came rushing back as he thought about his family. His sisters meant well, but their interference had produced some of the greatest heartbreak in his life.  
  
The more he thought about things, the more he realized that Sara was right. She had every right to be even more scared than he was at the moment and yet she was willing to risk their entire friendship because she wanted to be with him. That thought was unfathomable to him. She wanted to be with him. He had been in denial for three and a half years about how he really felt about her and now that he knew that she returned his feelings he was paralyzed by fear.  
  
He felt a tear stinging his eye. He was a complete idiot. The last thing he wanted was to lose Sara, to lose this chance with her to see where this newfound relationship might go.  
  
He wasn't sure how long he'd been standing out on the deck, but when he went back inside, he heard a muffled sound in the other room. He made his way over to the closed bedroom door and softly tapped. "Sara."  
  
He tapped again when he didn't get a response. "Sara." He waited a few moments and then softly opened the door. He could hear her sniffling in the darkness. "Sara."  
  
"Go away, Nick." He could tell by her voice that she'd been crying.  
  
Ignoring her plea, he walked over toward the bed and gingerly crawled onto it next to her. "Sara, I'm sorry. I'm an idiot."  
  
She let out a sound that was a combination of a sniffle and a scoff.  
  
"I do want to try this, but I'm scared. I know you're scared too, I'm sorry that I acted like I was the only one." Nick tried to reassure her with his words.  
  
Sara whispered in the darkness. "For so long I've let work consume me. I acted like an idiot for almost three years throwing myself at Grissom, knowing deep down that nothing was ever going to happen there. You've been one of my closest friends and to admit that I was feeling something for you scared the shit out of me. It was easier to fixate on something I could never have."  
  
Nick inched closer to her and reached for her hand.  
  
She continued talking. "I can't let work be my whole life anymore. I need to let myself have a life. The possibility of sharing part of my life with you that doesn't have anything to do with work seems incredible, but I want to try it. I don't know what's going to happen, Nick, but I want to try."  
  
There was a hitch in Nick's voice. "I'm sorry for freaking out earlier. I want to be with you. It's just so hard for me to realize that you want to be with me. When I think about how long I think I've wanted this and how long I've been in denial about it, it seems unreal. I think all of this is going to take a little getting used to for both of us, but I want to try. I really do want to try, Sara."  
  
Sara reached out and touched his face. "I'm sorry that I didn't give you a chance to explain." She chuckled softly. "I just loaded my insecurities and shot them at you with both barrels."  
  
There was a hint of uncertainty in Nick's voice. "Are we ok?"  
  
She smiled and leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his mouth. "Yeah, I think we're ok."  
  
Nick smiled in the darkness. "Good, because we rented a really good movie and I was looking forward to watching it with you. C'mon, you can sleep later."  
  
Sara started to laugh as Nick pulled her out of bed and back into the living room where they settled themselves on the couch to watch 'Pirates of the Caribean'. 


	23. Chapter 23

Sara's voice was sleepy. "That was really good." Her eyes were closed and she was resting against Nick's chest.  
  
Nick chuckled softly. "How would you know? You didn't see most of it."  
  
She giggled. "He gets the girl at the end, right?"  
  
"Well, yeah." Nick replied curiously.  
  
"Then I saw all I needed to." She was completely relaxed.  
  
"Are you going to fall asleep on me?" Nick sounded a bit amused.  
  
"Mmm, I would have already if you'd stop talking." Sara quipped.  
  
"Sara, my arm's falling asleep." Nick laughed.  
  
"Well, maybe the rest of you would too if you'd give it a chance." Sara didn't want to move because she'd just have to get relaxed all over again.  
  
Nick nudged her. "C'mon, get up, the movie's over."  
  
"You're the one that wanted to come out here. I was all ready to go to sleep earlier." She was thoroughly enjoying teasing him.  
  
"Sara, I'm tired." Nick was trying to make her feel sorry for him. It wasn't working.  
  
"So am I." Sara chuckled, her eyes still closed.  
  
"You asked for it." Nick decided that the only way to get off the couch was to pick Sara up.  
  
Sara yelped as Nick scooped her up in his arms and carted her off towards her bedroom. As Nick deposited her onto her bed, Sara whined. "I was comfy."  
  
He chuckled as he stood there looking at her. "Well, my arm was falling asleep." He rotated his arm as the circulation finally returned.  
  
Sara climbed under the covers and looked up at Nick. "What are you doing?"  
  
He smirked as he flexed his hand. "Checking for feeling."  
  
She smirked back. "I'm sure you'll be fine."  
  
"What do you want to do tomorrow?" Nick grinned at her.  
  
"What? You don't want to go hunting for more Yellow-billed Syrupsuckers?" Sara quipped.  
  
Nick raised an eyebrow at her in amusement. "That's Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, smartass."  
  
Sara feigned a pout. "Aren't you going to kiss me goodnight?"  
  
"Let me think about that for a moment." Nick grinned.  
  
Sara grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. "You've done enough thinking."  
  
Nick took the pillow from where it landed on the floor and climbed onto the bed, whacking her with the pillow.  
  
Sara yelped and grabbed the other pillow on the bed and tried to retaliate. Her aim was a bit off and most of her swings served more to put her off balance than to connect with Nick.  
  
His on the other hand, connected every time.  
  
"Truce." Sara squealed hiding under her pillow as she lay back on the bed.  
  
"Truce, huh? You were the one who started it." Nick teased.  
  
"But you're winning." She giggled as Nick abandoned the pillow and started to tickle her.  
  
"Well, you should remember that the next time you throw a pillow at me." Nick chided in amusement.  
  
Sara feigned innocence. "All I wanted was a goodnight kiss." She couldn't stop giggling.  
  
Nick raised an eyebrow and tried to keep from laughing. "Ah, a kiss, huh?" He stopped tickling her and grabbed the pillow she was hiding under, tossing it to the side.  
  
Sara nodded, trying not to smile.  
  
He pinned her to the bed with his body and leaned down and kissed her softly.  
  
Sara snaked her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, smiling against his mouth.  
  
They traded soft exploratory kisses for quite a while, neither one of them really wanting to stop, but finally pulling apart somewhat breathless.  
  
Nick's voice was husky. "We need to get some sleep."  
  
"Stay with me." Sara whispered as she pulled his head down towards hers, kissing him softly.  
  
As Nick pulled away, he whispered, a hint of regret in his voice. "Sara."  
  
"I know, just sleep. Please." She whispered.  
  
"Just sleep." He agreed wondering if it was really such a good idea, but not really wanting to leave her either. He rolled onto his back and then quickly shimmied out of his jeans and slipped under the covers.  
  
Sara snuggled up against him and slid her arm around his waist. "I'm glad I came, Nick."  
  
He smiled and found himself playing with her hair. "I'm glad you did too."  
  
He could feel her relaxing against him and slowly drift off to sleep. He lay awake for quite a while just thinking about her and how she felt in his arms. He wondered to himself about what would happen between them. There really was no way to go back to being just friends, they'd already stepped over the line, and he didn't want to go back, he just wondered how far forward things would go.  
  
As he held her, he tried to fight off the fear and the doubts that assailed him. Could it work between them? Would it work between them? As much as he wanted it to, what kind of guarantee was there? She was his friend, but he felt so much more for her, but the question was, how much more did he feel? Was what he felt long lasting, or was it something that would fade? Did he love her?  
  
There were so many unanswered questions and the only thing that offered him comfort from them at that moment was Sara lying in his arms. He held onto her tightly and finally drifted off to sleep, her even breathing lulling him to relax and at least temporarily let go of his fears. 


	24. Chapter 24

When Sara woke up, Nick was still sound asleep. She smiled as she watched him sleep for a while. The man had the most gorgeous eyelashes. Not wanting to disturb him, she slipped quietly out of bed and wandered into the living room. The sun was just coming up over the Gulf. A smile spread across her face as she opened the sliding glass door and stepped onto the deck. If she closed her eyes and breathed deeply, it was almost as if she was in Tamales Bay. The sound of seagulls and surf crashing against the shore in the early morning brought a certain peace that she missed in Vegas. She stood there for a long time just thinking.  
  
She had felt badly that she hadn't given Nick an opportunity to explain what he was feeling before she'd reacted last night. She too felt like she was freaking out, but she also felt like there was something between her and Nick that would be a mistake to ignore. He was so good for her. Of all the people that she worked with, he had been her friend from the start. He never was anything other than himself with her and even around his family, he was just Nick.  
  
When she had shown up on his doorstep in the middle of the night the week before, she knew then that something between them had changed. She had never done that before with him, never cried like that with anyone, and then falling asleep in his arms like that, she had felt something she couldn't explain.  
  
As much as Nick's sisters had tried to play matchmaker between them, she had been surprised that she didn't mind. There was something genuine about him that too many people in Vegas lacked. Even she felt like she was a bit jaded at times. Each time she had trusted someone, they had let her down, except Nick. In some respects, she had expected him to bolt last night. Him freaking out had really upset her. She was afraid of losing him and as she'd left the living room and told him that she was going to bed, she had cried. She had felt like her heart was breaking into a million pieces and it was then that she realized that she was in love with him.  
  
A smile spread across her face. She was in love with Nick Stokes. She wasn't ready to tell him that yet, he needed to figure out his own feelings, but she knew without a doubt how she felt about him.  
  
The color of the sunrise had diminished from a brilliant orange to a golden hue as the sun had broken over the horizon. She moved back inside the condo and started a pot of coffee before going back into the bedroom to see if Nick was awake yet.  
  
He was still asleep, laying on his stomach, his arms wrapped around a pillow.  
  
Sara smiled and gently shut the door. As the coffee finished brewing, she poured herself a cup and went back out onto the deck to enjoy it. As she sipped the coffee she pondered all the things that had changed over the last several days. Most of it due in large part to a single decision. If she hadn't shown up on Nick's doorstep that night, she didn't think she'd be in Texas with him right now, and she certainly didn't think that she would have admitted to herself that she was in love with him. Just that thought brought a smile to her face.  
  
Her life had been spinning out of control and that one crime that had pushed her over the edge had served to be a catalyst of change in her life. Sometimes life was crazy, but the craziness of it often served to help change direction. She couldn't believe how relaxed she felt just sitting there doing nothing other than enjoying the view. Nick had been right, she had needed a vacation, but it seemed she had gotten more than that in the bargain. She had gotten Nick.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Nick lips curved up in a smile. Coffee. He could tell that Sara had gotten up and he was grateful that she'd let him sleep. He knew that he'd lain awake for at least an hour or more after she'd fallen asleep, his worries consuming him. Somehow in the morning light that filtered in through the blinds, those fears didn't seem quite as scary. Holding her like that had had a calming effect on him.  
  
It perplexed him how calm she was in general. She had been so worked up before they'd come to Dallas, but she had seemed to relax almost as soon as they had arrived. Despite the fact that she'd said coming there with him scared the hell out of her, her demeanor didn't betray that. If anything, she seemed to really enjoy herself. She seemed to enjoy being with him. That thought still was hard for him to fathom. Sara Sidle wanted to be with him.  
  
There was still something in him that felt like he was holding back for some reason. It frustrated him, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. There were a couple of things that were very clear to him. He didn't want to lose Sara as a friend, but he also wanted to see where things between them would go. The problem was, they couldn't go backward; that might destroy their friendship. But if they continued forward and things didn't work out he might lose her anyway. It was that fear that kept gnawing at him.  
  
He let out a deep breath and rolled over onto his back staring at the ceiling. How could he ensure that he'd never lose Sara's friendship? He mulled over the possibilities, and found the list of options to be very short.  
  
Letting out a deep breath, he rolled out of bed and wandered out into the kitchen in search of coffee in his T-shirt and boxers. He noticed Sara sitting out on the deck in her pajamas and a smile spread across his face as he poured himself a cup of coffee. He quietly made his way to the sliding glass door which she had left open and stepped out onto the deck to join her.  
  
"It's a beautiful morning." He smiled at her as she glanced up at him.  
  
"Yeah, it is. You should have seen the sunrise, but then you looked like you needed your sleep." Her expression was one that Nick had never seen before. There was a softness in it that made his heart flip.  
  
"You sleep ok?" He queried her as he sat down on one of the deck chairs.  
  
She nodded, still smiling. "Yeah." She looked at him curiously. "You?"  
  
Nick let out a yawn and a chuckle. "Alright I guess." He took a long sip from his coffee.  
  
"What are we going to do today?" She looked at him expectantly as she drank the last of her coffee.  
  
An idea hit him. "How would you feel about breakfast on the water." He grinned. "I know a place that has charters that go out looking for dolphins, we could spend part of the day out there."  
  
"That sounds great." Sara stood up and stopped in front of him, ruffling his hair with her fingers. "I'm just going to go take a shower."  
  
Before she could get past him, Nick grabbed her around the waist with one arm and pulled her into his lap, careful not to spill his coffee. "Hey, don't I get a good morning kiss? You got a goodnight kiss." He feigned a pout.  
  
Sara giggled and leaned in and kissed him softly. As she pulled away, she grinned. "Good morning."  
  
"Good morning." He grinned at her and kissed her again, letting his lips linger against hers. "You taste like coffee."  
  
Sara pulled away, one hand splayed out against his chest. "Oh, really?"  
  
He nodded, still grinning, setting his coffee cup down on the deck.  
  
She leaned in and kissed him again. As she pulled away she smiled. "So do you."  
  
"At this rate, we'll never get out of here." Nick quipped as he leaned in and kissed her again.  
  
Sara smiled against his lips and pulled away. "I'm not the one who insisted on a good morning kiss." She smirked at him.  
  
"I don't see you complaining." He teased, leaning in and kissing her again.  
  
She relaxed against him and allowed him to deepen the kiss. Quite a few moments later, they broke apart grinning. Sara leaned in and planted a quick peck on his lips before standing up . "I'm going to go get ready. We can do that again later."  
  
"Promise." Nick looked entirely pleased with himself.  
  
She flashed him a grin. "Count on it." 


	25. Chapter 25

The day was perfect. Blue skies. Calm seas. Nick and Sara stood on the deck of the charter boat skimming along the surface of the water of the Gulf of Mexico. Seagulls hovered overhead, riding the wake of air left by the boat. Several other tourists were on board as well and everyone kept their eyes fixed on the water in hopes of seeing dolphins breaking the surface and riding alongside the boat.  
  
They had stopped and picked up breakfast on the way to the boat and now Nick kept tossing remnants of a croissant up to the seagulls.  
  
Sara chided him as she laughed at him. "Nick, if you keep that up, they're going to leave a present on your head."  
  
Just then one of the seagulls relieved itself on the deck of the boat.  
  
Sara chuckled. "See what I mean?" She raised an eyebrow at him to emphasize her point.  
  
He just grinned at her. "Ok, you win." He kissed her on the cheek before tossing the croissant over the side of the boat.  
  
They stood by the railing looking out at the water side by side. Nick's thoughts turned to his feelings for Sara. The more he thought about things the more he kept coming to the same conclusion. He did not want to lose her. He was going to do everything in his power to make things between them work no matter how much it scared him. He felt a wave of emotion hit him and instead of giving in to it he wrapped his arms around Sara's waist and pulled her back against him, resting his chin on her shoulder.  
  
Sara smiled as she felt his arms go around her waist. She leaned her back against his chest and rested her hands on his arms. The day seemed almost magical with just the simplicity of them being together. They still hadn't seen any dolphins, but Sara was certain that she was satisfied just spending time with Nick.  
  
Neither one of them said anything for the longest time; they just reveled in the simple touch of the embrace, content to just be.  
  
A dolphin broke the surface of the water, then another and another. A wide smile spread across Sara's face.  
  
Nick just whispered. "Wow, that's incredible."  
  
"This day is incredible." Sara agreed. They watched the dolphins swim alongside the boat, leaping in almost a tag team fashion. The dolphins followed the boat for quite a while and then one by one broke off and disappeared as quickly as they had come.  
  
Too soon the boat pulled back into shore and they slowly followed the other passengers as they disembarked. Nick took Sara's hand and wordlessly they just walked along the beach, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Nick kept stealing glances as Sara wondering about this woman who was his friend, but so much more than that. She had a quiet strength about her that he admired. The fact that she was there with him spoke volumes that he couldn't quite comprehend. As things between them had changed these last few days, he came to the realization that he had begun to change the day he met her three and a half years before.  
  
He was a man that had sought comfort from so many women and yet none of them had satisfied, because he hadn't been satisfied with himself. For whatever reason, he had felt a certain contentment slowly overtake him the last several years as he and Sara had become closer friends working side by side. He had gotten a glimpse of what real beauty was and now that he knew that she had feelings for him, he didn't want anyone else; he wanted her. As that realization hit him, he felt as if a heavy weight had been taken from his shoulders. He knew. He just knew. He was in love with Sara.  
  
He smiled softly at her and squeezed her hand.  
  
She glanced over at him and a wide grin spread across her face. "This has been a wonderful day. I'm so glad you suggested we go out on the water."  
  
Nick stopped and slowly turned toward her. There was a steady breeze and her hair kept blowing into her eyes. He reached over and gently brushed it out of her face. "This has been a wonderful day because I got to spend it with you."  
  
"That's sweet." The gap in her front teeth was visible as she smiled.  
  
"You're sweet." He leaned in and softly kissed her, smiling as he pulled away and put his arm around her shoulder as they slowly walked back down the beach toward the car.  
  
Sara snaked her arm around his waist as they walked, thinking about what an incredible day this had been. They hadn't talked much, but they had enjoyed each others company and the silences were comfortable. She sensed that something deeper was happening between them, but she didn't want to overanalyze it. She just wanted to relax and enjoy it. For someone who had sought to be in control over everything in her life, she was finding that letting go of that control was utterly refreshing.  
  
They arrived back at the condo after making a quick stop at the grocery store. Nick wanted them to make dinner together and then just enjoy a leisurely evening with no particular agenda. He was about to butcher a head of lettuce when Sara intervened.  
  
"You're supposed to tear the lettuce, Nick." She looked amused that he'd been poised with a very large knife to cut into the lettuce.  
  
He grinned at her. "Tear it, huh?"  
  
She nodded and gently pushed him out of the way. "When you cut it, you bruise it."  
  
He chuckled softly and put the knife down on the counter and just stood there and watched her as she tore the lettuce and put it into a bowl.  
  
She glanced up and notice him studying her. "What?" She laughed and looked at him curiously.  
  
"You're really beautiful." He couldn't take his eyes off of her.  
  
Sara faintly blushed as she tried to restrain a smile. "Just wait until I start cutting the tomatoes."  
  
Nick continued to watch her and as he did, he reached over and caressed her cheek with his fingers.  
  
Sara looked at him quizzically and stopped tearing the lettuce.  
  
Nick looked into her eyes and smiled. "I realized something today."  
  
Sara felt a warmth in his eyes and couldn't help but smile. "You did?"  
  
He nodded. "Yeah, I did."  
  
"What was it?" She asked, knowing deep down what he was going to say.  
  
He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I realized." He kissed her cheek. "That my sister." He kissed her other cheek. "was right." He paused for a moment and looked her in the eye. "I'm in love with you, Sara." He softly pressed his lips against hers.  
  
Sara smiled against his lips and as they broke apart, she was grinning. "I realized something last night."  
  
Nick's eyebrows curved upward. "Really?"  
  
She nodded. "Really."  
  
He studied her, unable to contain his smile. "What was it?"  
  
She slid her hands up his chest and encircled his neck with her arms. "I realized that I'm in love with you." 


	26. Chapter 26

The salad was forgotten for a few minutes as Nick slowly and thoroughly kissed Sara. So much had changed since they'd arrived in Texas. How it had taken him this long to realize that he was in love with her was beyond him. As they broke the kiss, he just stared at her and smiled. "You are the most amazing person I know."  
  
"You're pretty incredible yourself." Sara's voice was almost a whisper, as if anything louder would break the mood of the moment.  
  
"I didn't want to wait any longer to tell you that. How I could not have realized that I was in love with you makes me think I'm an idiot." Nick whispered.  
  
Sara smiled. "Then I'm an idiot too."  
  
He grinned and leaned in and kissed her again briefly. "I think deep down I knew that I was in love with you, I was just afraid to admit it."  
  
"I was too blind to notice how I was feeling about you because I was so fixated on Grissom." Sara admitted.  
  
"We're here now, that's the important thing." Nick kissed her forehead. "Are you scared? Because I'm still scared. I'm in love with one of my best friends and I'm scared." His voice sounded vulnerable.  
  
She nodded. "I'm still scared too, but I know how I feel. I love you. I've never been so glad to be proven wrong about something in my entire life."  
  
Nick chuckled softly. "Me too." He dipped his head and softly kissed her again.  
  
The realization and confession that they loved each other lent a decidedly different feel to dinner. Interspersed with the salad and lasagna were kisses. After the meal, they sat on the couch and talked, Nick had his arms wrapped around Sara.  
  
"Last night there was just something I couldn't put my finger on, something that was holding me back. Today I realized that I was just scared shitless." He grinned as Sara laughed at his choice of words. "I know, really romantic, huh?"  
  
"I'll cut you a little slack; you're cute." She teased.  
  
"You're beautiful." He kissed her forehead. "Once I realized I was in love with you, Sara, I felt like this huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I didn't expect that."  
  
Sara studied him for a moment. "I know maybe this isn't the best time to bring this up, but what are we going to do if things don't work out between us? I need to know that you'll still be my friend." She fingered the buttons on his shirt.  
  
Nick nodded solemnly. "I know, that's my biggest fear. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't part of my life, Sara."  
  
Sara rested her head on his shoulder and trailed her fingers along his arm. "We'll just have to promise that no matter what happens we'll still be friends."  
  
Nick kissed her forehead, stroking her hair. "I promise. Whatever happens, we'll still be friends."  
  
Sara reached up and cupped his face with her hand. "I love you, Nick."  
  
He turned his face and kissed the palm of her hand. "I love you too, Sara."  
  
They sat there silently for a while, each lost in thought about the changes between them and the fears that they each still had. There was just something about being in love with someone with whom you'd been friends with first that brought a different level to the emotions involved.  
  
Sara shifted her weight and turned to face him. She reached up and trailed her fingers across his lips as she looked into his eyes. "I love kissing you."  
  
Nick grinned as Sara leaned in and pressed her lips softly against his. As they pulled apart he whispered. "I love kissing you." He leaned in and kissed her again.  
  
Sara cupped the side of his face with her hand as they broke apart. "I don't know what we're going to do when we get back to Vegas." She leaned in and kissed him again.  
  
Nick murmured against her lips. "What do you mean?"  
  
Sara's voice was husky. "We won't be able to work together."  
  
"We work great together. Why would Grissom break us up?" Nick questioned as he kissed her again.  
  
Sara smiled against his lips. "I won't be able to concentrate. I think all I'm going to want to do is this."  
  
Nick let out a low deep laugh that resounded against her mouth. He kissed her soundly and then broke the kiss and pulled her into a hug. "You may have a point there." He rested his chin on top of her head.  
  
"Can I ask you a question, Nick?" Sara's voice was tentative.  
  
Nick hugged her closer. "You can ask me anything."  
  
She smiled. "What is your family going to say when we get back to Dallas?"  
  
"They love you, Sara." He kissed the top of her head.  
  
"But your sisters, do you think that they'll leave us alone?" Sara sounded a little worried.  
  
Nick chuckled. "No, I'm sure they won't leave us alone. That's why we're here and not there right now."  
  
Sara smiled. "Maybe we should thank Chelsea for being so nosey. If it wasn't for her, I'm not sure I'd be here right now."  
  
Nick started absentmindedly playing with Sara's hair. "Did you know that Chels and Kevin never dated?"  
  
"Really?" Sara sounded a bit surprised. "How did that work?"  
  
Nick chuckled. "They were friends for years and then one day they both opened their eyes and realized that they were in love with each other. Chels claims that they never went on an official date before Kevin proposed, but the rest of us knew that there was something between them well before that."  
  
Sara smiled. "They're so in love."  
  
"Yeah, they are." Nick agreed as he hugged Sara a little tighter. 


	27. Chapter 27

The sound of a phone ringing pulled Nick out of his sleep. It took him a few seconds to get his bearings, wondering who would be calling in the middle of the night, until he opened his eyes and realized that the sun was up. He moved to pick up the phone and only then realized that Sara lay across his chest, part of her body wedged between him and the back of the couch. They had stayed up well past midnight talking and kissing on the couch, finally falling asleep where they were because they were too tired to get up and go to bed.  
  
He managed to grab the phone off of the coffee table on the fourth ring. "Hello." His voice was groggy.  
  
"Nick." Chelsea's voice was far too bright.  
  
"Hey, Chels." Nick tried to sound far more awake than he felt. He was surprised that Sara was still asleep after the phone had rung.  
  
"Did I wake you up?" Chelsea only sounded partially apologetic.  
  
Nick chuckled. "What do you think? What time is it anyway?"  
  
"Eight-forty-five." She replied matter of factly.  
  
Nick yawned. "What do you want?"  
  
"I did wake you up." She was smiling by the sound of her voice.  
  
"We were up pretty late last night." Nick yawned again.  
  
"Oh, really?" Chelsea's tone inferred that perhaps she knew the reason why.  
  
Nick chuckled. "I'm assuming you didn't call just to chat. What's up?"  
  
"I just wanted to find out when you and Sara were going to be back up here. I'm thinking of moving Fiona's birthday party from Sunday to Saturday and I just want to make sure that you'll be here." She informed him.  
  
Sara began to stir and she lifted her head groggily and whispered to Nick. "Who are you talking to?"  
  
Chelsea could hear her on the other end of the line. "Oh, was that Sara?"  
  
Nick ignored Chelsea for a moment and whispered back to Sara. "It's Chels. She wants to know when we're coming back up to Dallas because she wants to have Fiona's party on Saturday instead of Sunday."  
  
"Oh." Sara smiled at him. "Did you tell her?"  
  
"Not yet." He grinned at her. "Do you want me to?"  
  
"Sure, she's going to find out soon enough anyway." Sara lay her head back down against his chest and closed her eyes.  
  
Chelsea could hear their conversation over the phone and could hardly contain herself. "Nick? What are you not telling me?"  
  
Nick chuckled. "I'm not sure what you're talking about, Chels. We'll drive back to Dallas tomorrow, so if you want to have the party on Saturday, we'll be there."  
  
"Nick?" Chelsea's voice sounded like she was expecting a little more information.  
  
"Yes?" Nick was enjoying having the upper hand and thought he'd let Chelsea squirm for a little while longer.  
  
"Can I talk to Sara?" Her voice feigned innocence.  
  
"She's sleeping, Chels." Nick replied with a smirk as Sara smiled without opening her eyes.  
  
"But, didn't I just hear you talking to her?" Chelsea queried suspiciously.  
  
Nick chuckled. "She went back to sleep."  
  
"Nick." Chelsea wasn't sure he was actually admitting to what she thought he was admitting to.  
  
"Have you ever fallen asleep on the couch Mom and Dad have down here? I think I need to get one like this for home." Nick was having fun trying to confuse Chelsea.  
  
"The couch." Chelsea sounded doubtful.  
  
"You know the large seating surface with cushions on it that sits in the living room of the condo?" Nick deadpanned.  
  
A sleepy voice interjected. "Nick, just tell her." Sara sounded amused.  
  
"What are you supposed to tell me, Nick?" Chelsea's voice was artificially bright.  
  
Nick chuckled. "Do you want to talk to Sara?"  
  
"Nick, what are you supposed to tell me?" Chelsea's voice had a hint of impatience.  
  
Sara just held her hand up so Nick could put the phone into it. She pulled it to her ear and smiled as she heard Chelsea still asking Nick what they were talking about. "Hi, Chelsea."  
  
"Sara." It was evident that Chelsea had a grin on her face. "Are you having a good time down there?"  
  
"South Padre Island is amazing. We went out on a boat yesterday and saw dolphins." She opened her eyes and looked at Nick who had begun to play with her hair.  
  
"We've done that and it's absolutely fantastic, but we did spend half the time trying to keep Conner from climbing over the railing." She replied.  
  
Sara laughed at the image and then her voice softened. "I know that Nick is trying to torture you, but we just wanted to tell you that you were right and we were wrong."  
  
"Wrong about what?" Chelsea wasn't ready to fold her cards on the table. She wanted them to come out and say it.  
  
Sara grinned at Nick and handed the phone back to him.  
  
"Sara?" Chelsea queried as she didn't hear a response.  
  
Nick chuckled. "Hey, Chels, it's me."  
  
"What were you wrong about?" Chelsea pressed.  
  
"Sara." Nick stated simply.  
  
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Chelsea was trying to hold back the urge to do an end zone dance.  
  
"What do you think I'm saying?" Nick wanted to get one last jibe in.  
  
"Nick Stokes, are you and Sara dating?" Chelsea cut to the chase, her patience wearing thin.  
  
He chuckled and smiled at Sara as he answered Chelsea's question. "Yes, Chels, we are." 


	28. Chapter 28

"I don't think I've ever heard her that speechless." Nick quipped to Sara after he'd hung up the phone with Chelsea.  
  
Sara smiled, her eyes closed as she rested against Nick's chest. "You certainly had fun with that."  
  
He chuckled. "Hey, what do you want to do today?"  
  
"Do I have to get up?" Sara's voice was laced with sleepiness.  
  
"No, you don't have to get up, but I think I'm going to get up." Nick replied, trying to ease himself out from under her.  
  
Sara whined. "Nick, you were my pillow."  
  
"You'll recover." He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek as he handed her one of the couch cushions. "I'm going to go take a shower; these jeans are starting to grow on me."  
  
Sara just lifted her hand, not bothering to open her eyes. "Ok."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sara woke sometime later and as her eyes fluttered open, she stared out the windows toward the Gulf. From the look of the sky, it appeared that a storm was headed their direction. She lay there for a few minutes letting wakefulness overtake her, wondering where Nick had disappeared to. She finally pulled herself off of the couch, making a mental note that falling asleep in jeans wasn't very comfortable.  
  
Hearing a series of blipping noises coming from one of the bedrooms, she slowly opened the door and poked her head in. She smiled as Nick looked like he was completely engrossed in a video game. She had a vague recollection that he'd mentioned that his parents had purchased an X-Box so his nieces and nephews could use it when they came and visited. He didn't even seem to notice that she'd opened the door, and so she closed it again and decided that a shower was in order.  
  
When she emerged from the bathroom she donned a pair of track pants and a snug fitting T-shirt. She could still hear the sounds from the video game emitting from the other room. She smiled as she opened the door. This time Nick glanced up.  
  
He grinned at her and paused the game. "Hey, you're awake."  
  
"What are you playing?" She wandered over towards the bed.  
  
Nick lifted the covers and invited her to sit down next to him. "Football."  
  
She smirked as she climbed under the covers with him, noticing that he was clad only in his boxers and a T-shirt. "Football."  
  
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you want to play?"  
  
She chuckled and shook her head. "No, I'll just watch you."  
  
"Ok, suit yourself." He turned his attention back to his game.  
  
Sara was entirely amused as she watched him. However, she also was somewhat less amused that he seemed to hardly notice that she was there and decided to do something about it.  
  
Nick was furiously working the game controller when he felt his boxer shorts move in a sudden upward motion. He let out a yelp and glanced over at Sara, his eyebrows arching upward.  
  
She feigned an innocent expression and pointed toward the TV. "Uh, Nick, I think you've got a man down on the field."  
  
Nick paused the game and lay down momentarily so he could lower his boxers to a more comfortable level. "You're very funny."  
  
"But you love me." She grinned.  
  
He leaned over and kissed her softly, grinning as he pulled away. "Yes, I do." He turned his attention back to the game.  
  
Sara tried to swallow a grin as she watched him completely absorbed in his video game. Apparently, she was going to have to work at distracting him.  
  
"Sara!" The pitch of Nick's voice was elevated as his boxers again moved swiftly upward, aided by the hand of Sara.  
  
"Ooh. I think the other team scored a touchdown." She pointed at the TV, her brows furrowed in mock concern.  
  
Nick smirked and paused the game, laying down and tugging his boxers out of the upper recesses of his nether region before sitting back up. "You know, you're asking for it." He leaned over and kissed her again briefly.  
  
She just grinned at him, amused at how effective this strategy of distracting him was.  
  
Nick once again turned his attention to his game. He was just about to score a touchdown, when he felt her yank his boxers upward again. There was a waver in his voice as he glanced over at her, both eyebrows raised. "Sara." He paused the game and lay down to tug his boxers out of where she'd wedged them and then sat back up.  
  
Sara bit her lip to keep from laughing. "I'm sorry."  
  
He kissed her briefly and then smirked. "No you're not." It was all he could to not smile. He picked up the game controller and resumed the game.  
  
Sara watched him with interest, waiting until he was fully absorbed in his game before she reached over again. This time, she was the one that got the surprise. Instead of grabbing onto the back of his boxers, she found herself grabbing at his bare butt. Apparently, Nick had grown tired of her giving him wedgies and decided to just pull his boxers down.  
  
"Oh!" Sara's eyebrows shot up and she blushed.  
  
Nick paused the game and glanced over at her and started laughing. "I told you that you were asking for it."  
  
She had a sheepish expression on her face. "I'm sorry."  
  
He shook his head. "No you're not."  
  
Sara leaned over and kissed him. "Ok, no I'm not." Nick deepened the kiss as Sara slid her arm around his neck and grabbed onto the front of his T- shirt as she lay back on the mattress, pulling him with her.  
  
It wasn't until Nick was nestled between Sara's legs, and his boxers were down somewhere around his ankles, one of his hands was up her shirt and the other was beginning to tug at the waistband of her track pants that Sara mumbled something against his mouth that stopped them cold.  
  
Nick pulled away, trying to catch his breath, a bewildered expression on his face.  
  
Sara repeated herself. "Do you have any protection?" Her voice was husky.  
  
Nick shook his head. "I'm not exactly prepared since we weren't even dating when we came down here and I didn't think we'd be doing this."  
  
She closed her eyes for a moment and then let out a deep breath, looking up at him. "I'm sorry; I didn't think we would either."  
  
Nick leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before he rolled off of her and reached under the covers to pull his boxers back up. He glanced over at her and smiled. "Maybe we should go to the store."  
  
"Good idea." Sara was still trying to catch her breath when she got out of bed. She raised a curious eyebrow at him as he still lay there. "Are you coming?"  
  
With a smirk he rolled onto his side and shook his head. "In a minute. I've got a little situation that I need to get under control first." 


	29. Chapter 29

Nick had a hard time keeping his eyes on the road as he and Sara drove to the store in the Miata.  
  
Sara smirked at him. "I should have driven."  
  
Her quip was not lost on Nick. "Sorry, I'm a little distracted by the sexy woman sitting next to me right now, Sara."  
  
She let out a deep throaty laugh. "Just drive."  
  
He grinned at her as he pulled into the parking lot of the drug store. He leaned over and kissed her, locking his eyes with hers for a moment. "I'll be right back, don't move."  
  
She just shook her head in amusement as she watched him practically sprint into the store.  
  
He returned in under five minutes with a bag that seemed to almost be inadequate for its contents. "I think we're ready."  
  
Sara raised a single eyebrow. "That bag's pretty full."  
  
He grinned. "I'm adopting the Boy Scout motto: 'Be Prepared'."  
  
Sara giggled. "Nick, you are ridiculous."  
  
"You love me though." He chuckled.  
  
"Yes, I do." Sara leaned over and kissed him as he started the car. She looked into his eyes as she broke the kiss and smiled. "You know, while we're out, maybe we should get Fiona a birthday present."  
  
Nick considered her words for a fraction of a second. "Sara."  
  
She pursed her lips together and grinned as she ran her fingers along his jaw line. "Nick." She smiled. "If we do it now, we won't have to go out later. Besides, we're driving back to Dallas tomorrow and we won't have time."  
  
Nick practically whimpered. "Sara."  
  
Sara giggled. "Nick, trust me, I'm worth the wait."  
  
Nick leaned over and kissed her. "Ok, but let's make it quick. I want you so bad right now I can barely stand it." He threaded the car through traffic in search of a toy store. They finally located one and as they made their way into the store, Nick wrapped his arm possessively around Sara's waist.  
  
Nick grabbed the first doll he set his eyes on, grinning widely. "I think this is it."  
  
Sara smirked at him and shook her head. "Nick, she's three."  
  
He furrowed his brow. "Since when have you shopped for a small child?"  
  
She chuckled at his impatience, knowing that under any other circumstances he'd be the one that would have to look over the entire store before picking the perfect gift. "Nick, let's just look around a little."  
  
He consented reluctantly, following Sara throughout the store, stopping occasionally as she suggested a toy and wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and planting a kiss on her neck or cheek.  
  
Sara couldn't help but smile and by the time they found a stuffed dog for Fiona and were waiting to pay for it, the cashier gave them both a knowing look.  
  
They finally got out of the toy store and as they climbed back into the Miata, Sara turned toward Nick. "Hey, I think we should grab something to eat."  
  
Nick looked at Sara with a hopeful expression. "Drive-thru?"  
  
She giggled. "Ok, drive-thru."  
  
Nick pulled into the first fast food restaurant they came to and ordered a couple of burgers for himself, a veggie burger and a side salad for Sara, a couple orders of fries, an order of onion rings, a couple of shakes, and cookies.  
  
Sara couldn't stop laughing.  
  
"Anything else?" Nick queried her.  
  
She just shook her head. "No, I think you've got everything covered."  
  
Nick grinned. "Ok then."  
  
They had just pulled back out into traffic when the storm that Sara had seen coming across the Gulf finally hit. Rain came down in torrents, slowing traffic to a crawl. Nick kept looking over at Sara with a pained expression on his face.  
  
Sara continued giggling. "Nick, if you could see your face right now."  
  
They were six blocks from the condo when one of the tires went flat. With a grimace on his face, Nick turned toward Sara after he'd pulled the car over. "I don't think someone upstairs likes me."  
  
"I like you." Sara leaned in and kissed him. As she pulled away, she brushed his lower lip with her thumb. "Let's change the tire so we can get back to the condo. Ok?"  
  
They were both soaked to the skin almost as soon as they got out of the car. It didn't take that long to change the tire, but by the time they did get back to the condo, the food was cold and so were they. Nick put the bags of food on the coffee table and Sara put the gift for Fiona on the couch.  
  
In the next instant, Nick had his arms around Sara and his lips descended on hers in a fiery kiss. They began stumbling their way into one of the bedrooms, kicking their shoes off as they went. Sara helped Nick peel his shirt off and he began working on hers, when a thought occurred to her. She mumbled against his lips. "Nick, protection."  
  
Nick let out a groan as he pulled away. "I left the bag in the car. I'll be right back." He dipped his head and gave her a quick kiss before turning toward the door. He felt something soft and wet hit him in the back of the head and he turned around with a curious expression.  
  
Sara had thrown her shirt at him and was standing there in her track pants and bra with a mischievous grin on her face. "Hurry back."  
  
He grinned widely. "Yes, ma'am." Nick raced out to the car to retrieve the bag and when he returned, Sara was laying on the bed waiting for him. He tossed the bag onto the bed and quickly shed his jeans and then crawled onto the bed in his boxers.  
  
Sara looked at him with a slightly amused expression as she gestured toward the bag. "Do you plan on using all of that today?"  
  
He chuckled. "I'm just a little excited."  
  
"So am I." Sara took the bag and set in on the floor and then turned back toward him, leaning in and kissing him softly. "But let's just try one at a time."  
  
He smiled at her, reaching over and brushing the wet tendrils of her hair off of her face. "I just can't believe I get to be with you like this. I love you so much."  
  
"I love you too." Sara grinned.  
  
Nick leaned in and kissed Sara. She snaked her arms around him pulling him close, the taste of rain mingling with the taste of each other. They began almost tentatively at first, a realization that the deep connection they had as friends was bringing an emotional level into the experience that neither one of them had ever felt before almost overwhelming them. This spark that had turned friendship into love flamed into passion as they touched and aroused each other, culminating in physical bliss.  
  
Much later, they lay nestled together under the covers, contented smiles on their faces. The storm that had blown in off of the Gulf had passed and the sun had come out once again, but neither Nick nor Sara seemed to notice. 


	30. Chapter 30

Nick looked at Sara incredulously as she lay there in his arms smiling. The emotion he felt was unparalleled.  
  
Sara reached over and traced his lips with her fingers. "What are you thinking?"  
  
Nick grinned. "I am still completely amazed that we're here like this." He trailed his fingers up and down her arm.  
  
Sara smiled at him. "It is pretty strange isn't it?"  
  
Nick raised his eyebrows curiously. "'Strange' wouldn't have been my first choice of a word to describe it."  
  
Sara leaned in and kissed him softly, smiling as she pulled away. "That's not quite how I meant it. I've just never quite had this sort of transition with someone before."  
  
"You mean friends becoming lovers?" Nick queried her gently.  
  
Sara looked content. "I think it's more than that. I think we're more than that." She looked into Nick's eyes. "I've never felt this way about anyone before."  
  
"Neither have I, Sara." He leaned in and kissed her tenderly. As he pulled back he just looked at her, completely amazed that she was in love with him. They just lay there facing each other for a while not saying anything. A myriad of expressions crossed Nick's face as he watched Sara watch him.  
  
Sara loved watching Nick. There were so many things about him that she loved. The fact that they didn't feel the need to fill up the silence amazed her. She'd never felt more comfortable with someone in her entire life. In fact, if she was put under oath, she'd swear that she'd never really been in love before until now. An expression crossed Nick's face that she couldn't place. She reached over and cupped his cheek with the palm of her hand. "What?"  
  
"I am so in love with you, Sara." Nick grinned at her as he reached over and stroked her hair. "I just had the craziest thought."  
  
Sara snuggled closer to him. "What?"  
  
Nick was quiet for a moment and let out a deep breath. He seemed almost apprehensive. "You're going to think I'm crazy."  
  
"Tell me." She grinned at him as she pushed him onto his back and propped herself up on his chest.  
  
He chuckled at her insistence. "I'm not sure if I should. You really are going to think I'm crazy."  
  
"I already think you're crazy." She leaned down and kissed him, smirking as she pulled away. "You're crazy about me."  
  
"I wish I could stay here like this with you forever." He cupped the back of her head and pulled her in for another kiss.  
  
Sara let herself get lost in his kiss, relishing in the feeling of his body pressing hers into the mattress as he rolled them over. They broke apart several long minutes later breathing heavily. Sara studied Nick's face as she looked up at him. The same expression crossed it again. She whispered as she brushed his lower lip with her thumb. "Tell me, Nick. I want to know what you're thinking."  
  
Nick furrowed his brow for a moment. "You really are going to think I'm crazy." He looked uncertain as he studied her.  
  
"I love you, I want to know." Her expression was earnest as she encouraged him to tell her what was on his mind.  
  
"I love you." He grinned at her.  
  
She smirked. "I think we've established that, but you're evading the question."  
  
Nick leaned down and kissed her softly, looking into her eyes as he pulled away. "I don't ever want to go back to just being friends, Sara." His voice was a whisper.  
  
"Who says we have to?" Sara's voice was slightly husky.  
  
Nick looked at her for a long time before he spoke again. "Sara, I am crazy. I'm crazy about you, I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about you."  
  
Sara just watched him as he spoke. There was just something about the way he was looking at her that told her that he had more to say.  
  
"When I was trying to figure out what was holding me back from admitting that I was in love with you, I kept thinking about how I didn't want to lose you, about how I never wanted you to not be part of my life." He brushed her hair back from her forehead and placed as soft kiss on it before he continued. "Something kept coming to my mind over and over again and I think that's why I had to be sure how I felt before I could admit it to myself; before I could tell you that I loved you."  
  
Sara's eyes were fixed on his face; she could feel her heartbeat quickening.  
  
"I knew that if I admitted that I was in love with you, that if I was fortunate enough for you to feel the same way, that there really was only one direction things could go between us." Nick studied Sara's face, hoping that what he was saying wasn't freaking her out.  
  
She reached up and cupped the side of his face imploring him to continue. She knew what his words would be before he even spoke them.  
  
He smiled at her, confident that he could trust her with his heart. "I want to spend forever with you, Sara. I want to wake up with you beside me every day. I want to dream with you and grow old with you." He paused for a moment and leaned down and kissed her. When he pulled away he had a smile on his face. "I love you, Sara. I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much. Will you marry me?" His heart felt like it had stopped as he waited for her to answer him.  
  
A smile spread across her face and she felt tears stinging her eyes. Her voice caught in her throat as she leaned upward and kissed him, finding her words as she pulled away. "I love you, Nick. I want to spend forever with you too."  
  
He searched her face for a moment wanting to be sure he was hearing her correctly. "Was that a yes? Did you just say that you want to marry me?"  
  
She nodded and started to giggle. "Yes, I want to marry you."  
  
Nick let out a 'whoop' before his lips descended on hers, and they both gave themselves up to the moment. 


	31. Chapter 31

Even Chelsea was speechless. She stood there with her mouth slightly agape not quite sure she had heard what Nick had just said correctly.  
  
Nick just stood there grinning with his arm around Sara's waist.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Several hours before, Nick and Sara had returned to Dallas. When they walked into Chelsea and Kevin's house Chelsea appeared to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown because the kids had gotten into the cake she'd picked up that morning for Fiona's birthday party the next day and now that they were wired with sugar, they seemed to be bouncing off the walls.  
  
Nick glanced over at Sara and grinned before turning to his sister and propelling her toward the front door. "Chels, let Sara and I watch the kids for a couple of hours. Go do something; anything. We'll have everything cleaned up by the time you get back. Ok?"  
  
Chelsea hadn't waited for Nick to repeat himself, she just took the keys to the Miata that he held out in his hand and walked out the front door, only to return a moment later to grab her purse.  
  
Once she was gone, Nick stared his nephews down. "Aiden. Conner. I think now would be a really good time to go in the other room and watch 'Sponge Bob'."  
  
"I don't like 'Sponge Bob'." Aiden was pouting.  
  
Nick raised a single eyebrow. "Bud, that wasn't a suggestion. It's 'Sponge Bob' or your room."  
  
Aiden's lower lip was on the verge of quivering. Conner just stood there with wide eyes for a moment before making a beeline for the family room. Fiona on the other hand, was covered in cake from head to toe. Despite the sticky mess that she was, she was grinning at Sara. "Kitty got away."  
  
Sara looked at Nick quizzically. "Did the kitten get out?"  
  
He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know."  
  
Just then a flash of gray fur covered in cake and frosting dashed from under a chair to hide behind a potted plant where it was flicking its paws in an effort to get the frosting off.  
  
Nick and Sara exchanged an amused glance and then went into action. Nick gestured toward Fiona. "Sar, would you mind helping Fiona get cleaned up? I'm going to try and catch the cat."  
  
Sara smirked at him knowing she'd gotten the better end of the deal. She propelled Fiona toward the bathroom and started the water to give her a bath.  
  
Fiona looked at Sara with glee on her face. "I get to play in the water! I get to play in the water!"  
  
Sara was thoroughly amused and wondered how Nick was making out in the next room trying to catch the kitten, who had appeared to be less than thrilled at its predicament.  
  
The water had been running into the tub for a few minutes when a loud curse word rang out from the next room and Fiona's eyes widened as she looked at Sara. "Unca Nicky said a bad word."  
  
Sara tried to restrain a smile. "I know, honey. Let's get you in the bathtub and I'll tell Uncle Nicky that he needs to watch his mouth. Ok?"  
  
Fiona nodded vigorously and let Sara help her out of her frosting laden clothes and help her into the tub where she immediately began playing with the bubbles.  
  
Sara stood up and poked her head out the door. "Nick?"  
  
"Just a minute!" Nick called out. "Damn, ouch! I'm gonna get you, you little bugger."  
  
It was all Sara could to not laugh at Nick's difficulty in capturing the cake and frosting encrusted feline.  
  
The little girl grinned at Sara as she turned around to face her. "I'm playing in the water!"  
  
Every couple of minutes Sara could hear another choice word being uttered.  
  
Fiona was engrossed in playing with the bubbles in the tub and Sara hoped that she didn't hear Nick. As she watched Fiona, Sara noticed the bathroom door being nudged open by the very same kitten Nick was searching for. He walked right up to Sara and let out a loud meow.  
  
Fiona giggled. "Kitty wants a bath too."  
  
Sara picked up the kitten and put it on her lap. "I don't think the kitty needs the same kind of bath you do."  
  
"Why?" Fiona tilted her head to the side and looked at Sara curiously.  
  
Sara smiled. "Kitty just needs a little wiping up. They don't like to play in water like you do." She grabbed a towel and began wiping the cake and frosting off of the cat.  
  
"Oh." Fiona looked at her as if she just shared the cure for cooties.  
  
Just then Nick poked his head into the bathroom. "I can't find the kitten." He let out a chuckle as he noticed it sitting in Sara's lap. "Be careful, he has teeth and claws and he knows how to use them." He held up his hand as evidence. A large scratch ran across the back of his hand.  
  
Sara smirked at him. "Maybe he just doesn't want to be chased."  
  
He rolled his eyes at her. "You're funny."  
  
Sara stood up. "Fiona heard you swear. I told her that I'd tell you to watch your mouth." She leaned over and kissed him.  
  
A sheepish expression crossed his face as he looked over at his young niece. "I'm sorry, Fiona. Your kitty gave me a couple of owies."  
  
Sara furrowed her brow in mock concern. "Want me to kiss it and make it better?"  
  
Nick smirked. "Very funny."  
  
Sara chuckled. "Hey, I was serious. It's scientifically been proven that kisses make everything better."  
  
"Kisses make my owies better." Fiona added.  
  
He grinned at her and raised both eyebrows. "Oh, really."  
  
Fiona nodded furiously. "Uh, huh."  
  
Sara leaned in conspiratorially, her lips inches from his. "See what I mean."  
  
Nick leaned in and kissed her softly, smiling as he pulled away. "When do you want to spring our surprise on them?"  
  
"When do you think we should?" Sara queried him. The kitten seemed to really like her and had relaxed as she held him.  
  
"How about when we can make the maximum impact." He suggested.  
  
She grinned. "Ok." She handed him the kitten. "Maybe you should check on the boys. I'll finish up with Fiona in here."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
When Chelsea arrived home a while later, she looked like a much more calm refreshed woman than she had when she'd left. She was amazed that not only had Nick and Sara managed to clean the house, but that they'd managed to clean up Fiona and the cat as well. In fact all three kids were sitting in the family room watching 'Air Bud'.  
  
"I invited some of the family over for a barbecue tonight." Chelsea informed Nick and Sara.  
  
Nick raised an amused eyebrow. "Really."  
  
Chelsea rolled her eyes. "Nick, we hardly ever see you, and now that you and Sara are dating, we'd like to get to know her a little better."  
  
Nick glanced at Sara with a grin. They were about to let their secret out of the bag.  
  
Throughout dinner, Chelsea watched Nick and Sara with interest. There was just something she couldn't quite put her finger on that was different. She reasoned that it was simply because they'd finally realized that they should be dating each other, but that didn't fully explain the looks of unrestrained adoration that passed between them.  
  
And then just before dessert, Nick stood up and made an announcement with his arm around Sara's waist that left everyone speechless.  
  
Even Chelsea was speechless. She stood there with her mouth slightly agape not quite sure she had heard what Nick had just said correctly.  
  
Nick stood there grinning with his arm around Sara's waist. As for Sara, she looked positively radiant.  
  
Chelsea fumbled and finally managed to say what all of them were thinking. "What was that you just said?"  
  
Nick looked at Sara for a moment and pulled her closer before turning back toward his family and smiled. "Sara and I eloped." 


	32. Chapter 32

Chelsea was still unsure she had heard him correctly. "You two eloped?"  
  
Nick nodded. "That's what I said." There was something about his expression that didn't ring true.  
  
Chelsea looked at Nick and Sara and shook her head. "You couldn't have."  
  
Nick looked smug. "Oh and why's that?"  
  
Sara looked as if she was trying to restrain her smile.  
  
Chelsea raised a suspicious eyebrow at Nick. "There's a 72-hour waiting period in the State of Texas for a marriage license." She looked smug.  
  
The rest of Nick's family watched the interaction between the two siblings with interest, not saying anything, curious as to where this was leading.  
  
"You seem so sure of yourself." Nick replied with a hint of a challenge in his voice and a mischievous glint in his eye.  
  
Chelsea flashed him a 'no duh' expression. "I know the law, Nick." However, her tone implied that she wasn't so sure of herself.  
  
Nick's mother Pamela started to laugh. "Nicky, can you put your poor sister out of her misery?"  
  
Chelsea looked at her mother with disbelief that she seemed to know something that the rest of the room did not.  
  
Nick grinned at his mom. "I will in just a minute, Mom. I just need to say something first."  
  
Chelsea glanced around the room to see if anyone else knew what was going on, but the rest of her siblings and their spouses looked as confused as she did. The only ones in the room who didn't were her parents and her grandmother.  
  
"Chels?" Nick wanted to get her attention.  
  
She turned back toward Nick, her expression was sheepish. "Yeah?"  
  
"You know that I love you." He glanced at his other sisters. "I love all y'all."  
  
Chelsea nodded and glanced at her sisters, somehow knowing they were about to get their comeuppance.  
  
"And while I love you, I need you to keep your nose out of my love life. It's my life and quite frankly, it's none of your business." Nick chided them gently.  
  
Nick's brothers-in-law had amusement on their faces. They all knew how much the Stokes women could get out of hand when it came to their younger brother's love life.  
  
Chelsea looked confused. "But you didn't elope; you're not married."  
  
Nick glanced over at Sara and grinned at her, leaning in to kiss her softly before turning toward Chelsea and the rest of his family. "You're right, we didn't elope, but I did ask Sara to marry me."  
  
All eyes in the room turned to Sara.  
  
A smirk crossed Sara's face. "I said yes by the way."  
  
Megan let out a squeal of delight.  
  
Michael hugged his wife Susan a little closer and chuckled. "Way to go, little brother."  
  
Chelsea looked shocked. "You're not kidding us are you?"  
  
"No, Chelsea, he's not." Nick's dad John interjected.  
  
"You knew?" Chelsea looked at her parents with confusion.  
  
A ripple of laughter spread throughout the room.  
  
Nick cleared his throat. "We called Mom and Dad last night." Suddenly, Nick and Sara seemed to be surrounded by everyone all at once as they received congratulatory hugs.  
  
Nick's grandmother Rose cleared her throat and everyone turned her direction. "Nick, tell them the rest, honey." She was smiling widely.  
  
Nick looked at Sara and grinned. "We wanted to elope."  
  
Sara giggled. "But then there was that 72-hour waiting period you were talking about."  
  
"You could always go to Vegas!" Someone called out  
  
Nick smirked and Sara laughed. He responded to the suggestion. "We decided that we wanted all of you to be part of it, so if you don't have anything else going on, we want to get married next Saturday."  
  
"How can we help?" Andrea queried.  
  
"I'll clear my calendar." Grace interjected.  
  
"That's only a week from now." Chelsea looked nearly stricken.  
  
Nick's grandmother interrupted. "Don't forget, I married your grandfather just a week after he asked me to marry him."  
  
"That's right." Amy had a huge smile on her face.  
  
Sara glanced at Nick with a hint of disbelief. "Is she serious?"  
  
Nick nodded. "Yeah, she is." He turned. "Grandma, do you want to tell Sara your story?"  
  
Nick's grandmother smiled at Sara and began. "This family has always been a little impulsive when it comes to getting married, but it always seems to last."  
  
Soft laughter came from the other side of the room as everyone began to take a seat. "This is perfect, I love this story." Sara wasn't sure which of Nick's sisters had spoken, but the tension in the room seemed to have dissipated. She glanced around and found smiles on everyone's faces.  
  
As Nick's grandmother began to talk, Nick sat down and pulled Sara into his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist.  
  
Rose smiled at them. "Well, it was 1936 and I was working as a court stenographer. I was dating this young man named Russell, he was very nice, but wasn't in any big hurry to settle down. Not that I was either mind you. I enjoyed making my own way, and I was good at it too."  
  
There was a scattering of laughter and Sara could see where the Stokes women got their spunk.  
  
Rose continued. "During my lunch hours though, I would usually go to the corner deli and get a sandwich with some of the other workers from the courthouse. One of them was a young man a named Nathan Stokes."  
  
Sara glanced around the room at everyone's faces and felt Nick's lips press against her cheek. A smile spread across her face.  
  
"Well, Nathan and I were good friends. But that's all I saw him as. I was enamored with Russell." Rose paused for a moment and whispered conspiratorially to Sara. "This is the part that always gets them."  
  
"Go on, Grandma! This is the best part!" Chelsea encouraged with a wide grin on her face.  
  
"See what I mean?" Rose smiled at Sara. "Anyway, one Friday while we were walking to the corner deli to get a roast beef sandwich, Nathan just turns to me with the most serious expression and told me he wanted to ask me a question. I asked him what it was he wanted to ask me. He just turned and told me that he wanted to marry me. I don't think I could have been more shocked and somehow I managed to ask him when he wanted to do that. He said either we got married the next Friday or we didn't at all. In retrospect, I think I'd been in love with him since the day I'd met him. I said yes and we got married on the next Friday, just a week after he'd asked me to marry him."  
  
She dabbed at her eyes for a moment. "Nathan and I were married for sixty- one years before he passed away."  
  
Sara found herself tearing up at the beauty of the story. She only hoped that she and Nick would have as many years as Rose and Nathan. "Thanks for sharing your story, Rose, it was beautiful."  
  
Nick hugged Sara a little tighter, tears stinging his eyes as he realized how similar his and Sara's story was to his grandparents' story. 


	33. Chapter 33

"I thought Chelsea was going to have a coronary." Nick was still thoroughly amused by his sister's reaction to their announcement.  
  
"I still can't believe that your dad suggested that you do that." Sara replied chuckling.  
  
Nick looked over at her as they sat on the couch in the basement apartment in Chelsea and Kevin's house. "My sisters have given me a hard time about my love life for as long as I can remember and he knows that. The look on Chelsea's face though was priceless."  
  
Sara was quiet for a moment as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Now comes the hard part."  
  
"It is going to be an interesting phone call, isn't it?" Nick sounded scared.  
  
"It's not going to get any easier, and besides, if we call now, maybe a few of them can come." Sara reasoned.  
  
"You're sure that your parents will be able to come?" Nick wanted to confirm, looking into her eyes.  
  
She smiled. "Yes, they said they'd come. They said they'd shut down the B&B if their friends weren't available. My mom was going to call as soon as they booked their flight." Sara leaned over and kissed him.  
  
Nick smiled as they broke the kiss. "I guess it's time to face the music. I just hope that Grissom isn't at a crime scene."  
  
Sara smirked. "Do you want to call him, or do you want me to call him?"  
  
Nick considered that for a moment and raised his eyebrow mischievously. "Maybe we should start with Catherine."  
  
Sara chuckled. "You're stalling."  
  
Nick looked sheepish. "You call him. He likes you better."  
  
Sara raised an eyebrow. "Ok, I'll call him, but you have to tell him."  
  
Nick swallowed hard wondering what Grissom would say. "Ok. That sounds mostly fair."  
  
Sara smirked. "Mostly fair?"  
  
"Fine, I'll call him." Nick flashed her a grin and leaned over to kiss her.  
  
Sara giggled against his mouth and pushed him away. "We need to tell him."  
  
Nick chuckled. "Ok, it's now or never." He picked up the phone and punched in the familiar number. He felt his heart rate accelerate and his palms began to sweat. One ring, two rings, and finally Grissom picked up the line.  
  
"Grissom." Gil Grissom recognized the number calling him on his cell phone, but wondered why he'd be calling.  
  
"Uh, Grissom, it's Nick." Nick sounded nervous.  
  
Grissom was immediately concerned. "Nick. Is everything ok? Aren't you still on vacation?"  
  
"Yeah, we are. I, uh, we, that is, Sara and I have something we need to tell you." Nick glanced over at Sara for encouragement.  
  
She grinned at him.  
  
"Nick, is Sara ok?" Grissom knew that Nick never called work when he was on vacation and he was worried.  
  
"She's fine. We're fine. Actually, we're more than fine. Uh, we, I, uh, we need to, that is, I asked, we, she, uh, what I'm trying to say, uh." Nick couldn't get a coherent sentence out of his mouth.  
  
"Nick, I'm not following you. Is everything ok?" Grissom thought that Nick sounded abnormal.  
  
"Nick, let me talk to him." Sara whispered grabbing the phone from him.  
  
Nick let out a deep breath and watched as Sara tried to finish the conversation.  
  
"Gris." Sara began. She glanced over at Nick and smiled at the nervous expression on his face.  
  
"Sara. Is everything ok?" Grissom was curious why they were calling since they were on vacation.  
  
"Yes, everything is fine. Nick and I just needed to tell you something before we got back to Vegas." Sara explained, hoping she sounded calmer than she felt.  
  
"Ok." Grissom replied hoping to get a more concise and coherent explanation out of Sara.  
  
Sara figured that the best way to tell him was to be as direct as possible. Unfortunately, her mouth wouldn't cooperate. "Uh, Nick and I, we, uh. That is, we, uh."  
  
"Sara." Grissom was bordering on becoming annoyed. "I'm at a crime scene, is this something that can wait?"  
  
Sara swallowed hard and glanced at Nick before she continued. "Uh, no, it can't wait. Uh, Nick's going to tell you." She thrust the phone Nick's direction.  
  
He looked panicked as he took the phone from her and immediately began to stammer. "Grissom."  
  
"Nick, please get to the point. I'm at a crime scene." Grissom wasn't bordering on becoming annoyed; he was well on his way.  
  
"I asked Sara to marry me and we're getting married next Saturday." Nick expelled the sentence in a single breath.  
  
Silence reigned on the other end of the phone.  
  
"Grissom?" Nick glanced at Sara with a concerned expression.  
  
Finally, Grissom spoke. "Uh, can you repeat that Nick? I'm not sure I heard you correctly."  
  
Nick took a deep breath and spoke a little slower. "I asked Sara to marry me and we're getting married next Saturday."  
  
Silence again.  
  
Nick looked at Sara with his brow furrowed, gesturing toward the phone.  
  
Sara took the phone from him and in a nervous voice spoke. "Gris?"  
  
"Sara." Grissom's tone was unreadable.  
  
"You heard what Nick said, didn't you?" Sara had a waver in her voice.  
  
Grissom was quiet for a moment and then spoke again. "You're getting married next Saturday."  
  
"Yes." Sara responded.  
  
"To Nick." Grissom clarified.  
  
"Yes." She continued looking at Nick with a worried expression.  
  
"In Texas." Grissom wanted to make sure he had all the facts straight.  
  
"Yes." Sara wasn't sure how Grissom was going to respond and suddenly she felt a little scared.  
  
"You're sure about this?" Grissom stated.  
  
"Yes, I'm very sure." Sara smiled at Nick who sat there wondering what Grissom was saying.  
  
"Let me talk to Nick." Grissom instructed.  
  
Sara handed the phone to Nick. "He wants to talk to you."  
  
Nick looked nervous. "Grissom."  
  
"You're sure about this, Nick?" Grissom was still trying to absorb the information.  
  
"I'm more than sure, Gris." Nick grinned at Sara.  
  
"I suppose we'll have a few things to talk about when you get back then." Grissom had begun compiling a mental list of the things he would have to do to make sure that two of his CSI marrying each other wouldn't affect the structure of his team.  
  
"Uh, actually, Gris, we really wanted you to come. We want all of you to come." Nick had begun to feel a little less nervous.  
  
Grissom let out a deep breath. "Nicky, I'll see what I can do. Give me a call after shift is over and I'll let you know what the situation is."  
  
"You won't tell Catherine and Warrick will you? We kind of want to tell them ourselves." Nick sounded a bit sheepish.  
  
"Nicky, it's a little late. They're both standing right here." Grissom informed him with a hint of amusement in his voice. 


	34. Chapter 34

"They're standing right there?" Nick let out a deep breath as he glanced over at Sara who was looking at him with both eyebrows raised.  
  
"That's what I said." Grissom replied. There were voices in the background for a moment and then Grissom continued. "Catherine wants to talk to you."  
  
"Ok." Nick swallowed hard. He knew that this revelation about he and Sara was a huge shock to his coworkers.  
  
"Nick." Catherine had a tone of disbelief in her voice.  
  
"Hey, Catherine." Nick tried to keep his voice light and confident, it came across as slightly panicked.  
  
"Let me get this straight, from what I overheard it sounded like you and Sara were getting married." From the tone in her voice Catherine clearly thought she had misheard Grissom.  
  
Nick glanced over at Sara and smiled. "That's right."  
  
"You're getting married?" Catherine clarified.  
  
"Yes." Nick replied a bit more confidently. "That's correct."  
  
"To Sara?" Catherine continued.  
  
"Yes. I'm getting married to Sara." Nick had a hint of amusement in it.  
  
"Our Sara?" Catherine further clarified.  
  
Nick chuckled. "Yes, our Sara. Do you want to talk to her?"  
  
"You really asked her to marry you?" Catherine still was having a difficult time fathoming that Nick would have done such a thing.  
  
"Yes." Nick grinned at Sara who looked like she was about to laugh at what she imagined was going on at the other end of the line at that moment.  
  
"And she said 'yes'?" Catherine was being even more thorough than Grissom had been in his questioning.  
  
"Yes, she said 'yes'. Do you want to talk to her and verify it with her?" There was a hint of teasing in his voice.  
  
"Nick, let me talk to her." Sara took the phone from Nick. She smiled at him as she spoke into the phone. "Catherine."  
  
"Sara." Catherine answered. "So, it's true then?"  
  
Sara just laughed. "Why is it so hard to believe?"  
  
"Uh, it's not that. Well, actually it is that. You two weren't even dating when you left." Catherine was trying to get her mind to grasp the information she'd been told. "I mean we half expected you to come back as an item, but not this."  
  
Sara grinned at Nick before she continued talking to Catherine. "Did you know that Nick's grandparents got married a week after he asked her to marry him and they weren't even dating?"  
  
"No, I didn't know that." Catherine replied.  
  
"Or that his sister Chelsea and her husband Kevin never dated before he asked her to marry him?" Sara continued.  
  
"No, I didn't know that either." From the tone of Catherine's voice it was evident that a smile was beginning to form.  
  
"Or that his sister Megan ran off to Vegas and married her husband Will three weeks after they met?" Sara felt Nick's arms snake around her waist and his lips pressing against her cheek.  
  
Catherine chuckled. "Ok, you made you're point."  
  
"I'm in love with Nick and he's in love with me. He asked me to marry him and I said yes." Sara was smiling.  
  
"But you're getting married in Texas?" Catherine wanted more clarification.  
  
"Yes, we're getting married here, but we really want all of you to come." There was something in Sara's voice that pleaded with Catherine to make Grissom work things out so that they could all be there.  
  
"I'll see what I can do." Catherine chuckled softly. "Uh, Warrick wants to talk to you."  
  
Before Catherine could finish her sentence, Warrick was speaking into the phone. "Hey, girl, I knew something was up with you two when you agreed to go home with him."  
  
Sara glanced over at Nick and chuckled. "Warrick, we weren't dating before we left."  
  
"Right." Warrick's tone was dry.  
  
"Seriously. We weren't dating." Sara insisted.  
  
Nick reached for the phone before Sara could say anything else. "Warrick, man."  
  
"Nick." Warrick sounded amused. "So I was right then. You did have a thing for Sara."  
  
Nick chuckled. "When I'm wrong, I admit that I'm wrong. And in this case, I was wrong. However, Sara and I were not dating before we came out here."  
  
"So, what's the rush, man?" Warrick sounded curious as to why Nick and Sara were so anxious about getting married.  
  
Nick looked over at Sara and grinned, his eyes never leaving hers as he spoke into the phone to Warrick. "Well, when it takes you as long as it took me to figure out who you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."  
  
Warrick let out a low chuckle over the phone. "So you're getting married next Saturday then?"  
  
Nick nodded before he realized Warrick couldn't see him. "Uh, yeah, next Saturday. You've got to be here, man. I need you to be my best man."  
  
"Wow." Warrick was silent for a moment. "I'll see what I can do. I wouldn't want to miss this for the world."  
  
"Thanks." Nick was still grinning at Sara. "Uh, one more thing."  
  
"What's that?" Warrick asked curiously.  
  
"Break it to Greg gently." Nick replied as Sara started to giggle.  
  
"Uh, no offense Nick, but I'm pretty sure that Sara's the one he's had the crush one all this time." Warrick quipped.  
  
"Very funny, man." Nick commented. "Hey, tell Grissom we'll call him after shift to see what he's come up with."  
  
"Will do." Warrick replied before hanging up the phone.  
  
Nick put the phone down and turned his attention back to Sara. "Greg will be disappointed."  
  
Sara snaked her arms around Nick's neck. "He'll get over it." She leaned in and kissed him insistently.  
  
Nick mumbled against her lips. "The other room would be a lot more comfortable."  
  
"Mmhmm." Sara replied, still not moving from the couch.  
  
Finally, Nick pulled himself off of the couch and Sara with him and began walking back toward the bedroom still kissing, they tumbled onto the bed before giving themselves over to the moment. 


	35. Chapter 35

Sara looked completely panicked. She had no idea that planning a wedding in a week's time was tantamount to asking to go insane. After Fiona's birthday party a plan was put in motion by Nick's sisters to help Sara, but she felt completely overwhelmed. She had just returned from almost a full day of shopping with Grace, Andrea, and Chelsea with nothing but a pair of shoes to show for it. She was sitting on the couch in the apartment when Nick returned from running a few errands of his own.  
  
He took one look at the tears that were slipping silently down her cheeks as she glanced up at him and his brows furrowed in concern. He sank down onto the couch next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, Sara, what's wrong?"  
  
Sara's voice seemed really small. "I can't do this, Nick."  
  
Nick was concerned. "Can't do what?" He hoped that she wasn't having second thoughts.  
  
"I can't plan a wedding." She sniffled. "It's too hard." There was a whining quality to her voice.  
  
"How can I help." He offered.  
  
There was a hiccup in her voice. "That's just it. I've got too much help. Everyone keeps telling me what I should do and I don't even know what I want." She sniffled again.  
  
"What do you want?" Nick queried her gently.  
  
"I don't know." Sara had a hitch in her voice and leaned her head against Nick's shoulder. "Can't we just elope?"  
  
Nick chuckled softly. "I suppose we could, but we've already invited everyone to a wedding."  
  
"It's so easy for you, all you have to worry about is getting a suit." Sara continued sniffling.  
  
"So you didn't find a dress, did you?" Nick thought that this was perhaps the reason why she seemed so upset.  
  
"Do you know how many kinds of wedding dresses there are?" Sara whined.  
  
"Do you want to tell me about it?" Nick offered.  
  
"And most of them are ugly." Sara started to cry.  
  
Nick wasn't sure what to do, he wanted to laugh, but he didn't dare. "Shh, it's ok, babe."  
  
"No, it's not." Sara's voice hitched between sniffles. "I don't want to be ugly when I marry you."  
  
Nick had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. "Sara, you won't be. You couldn't be ugly if you tried, even if you'd been around a decomp a little too long."  
  
Sara started to giggle.  
  
"You might smell bad, but you definitely couldn't be ugly." Nick teased.  
  
Sara lifted her head off of Nick's shoulder and looked into his eyes. "I love you."  
  
He grinned at her. "I know. I love you too."  
  
She leaned in and kissed him softly, smiling as she pulled back. "Can't we just elope?"  
  
He raised an eyebrow at her. "We'd still have to wait three days, we can't get a marriage license until tomorrow, and if we want to get married sooner than that, we'd have to fly back to Vegas early."  
  
Sara pursed her lips and furrowed her brow. "I guess we should have a wedding then."  
  
Nick chuckled. "Don't sound so excited."  
  
Her expression softened. "I'm sorry, Nick. It's just that I never thought I would get married, so I've never really thought about what kind of wedding I'd want. I never wanted to marry anyone before now."  
  
Nick looked a little surprised. "Even Grissom?"  
  
She smirked. "Even Grissom."  
  
Nick looked sheepish. "I guess he makes me a little nervous."  
  
Sara smiled at him. "Nick, I'm in love with you. I want to marry you. Grissom is a great man and I admire him, but I fixated on him because deep down I knew I could never have him. I was too afraid to realize that who I wanted, who I needed was right in front of me the whole time."  
  
Nick felt a lump forming in his throat and tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "I love you, Sara."  
  
She grinned. "I love you." She leaned in and kissed him and as she pulled back, she teased him. "Now don't you forget that."  
  
Nick smiled at her. "Hey, I've got something for you."  
  
"What is it?" She gave him a quizzical look.  
  
"Close your eyes." Nick had a mischievous grin on his face.  
  
Sara rolled her eyes before she closed them, a smirk firmly in place. "What is it?" The was an edge of impatience in her voice.  
  
Nick just chuckled as he reached for his pocket. "Just keep your eyes closed."  
  
Sara felt him take her left hand and slide something onto it.  
  
"Ok, open your eyes." Nick was grinning at her.  
  
She could feel emotion welling up as she opened her eyes to see a diamond engagement ring in a filigree setting on her finger. Sara was speechless as she looked up at Nick.  
  
He just smiled at her. "It was my grandmother's. She asked me if I wanted to give it to you."  
  
Sara started to cry. "I can't believe this."  
  
"She asked me if I wanted to wear my grandfather's ring." Nick was beginning to feel a little emotional himself.  
  
"Oh, Nick." Sara smiled through her tears.  
  
"She told me that she hoped we'd get to wear them at least as long as she and my grandfather did." Nick had tears running down his face now too.  
  
"I sure hope so." Sara's voice was husky as she leaned in and kissed him softly. 


	36. Chapter 36

"Nick's going to have a heart attack when he sees you in that dress." Chelsea was smiling at Sara as she stepped out of the dressing room of the third bridal shop they'd been in that day.  
  
Sara walked up to the three way mirror and looked at herself critically. "You really think this is the one?" She glanced up at Chelsea, thankful that she only had one other person with her this time.  
  
Chelsea nodded. "Oh, Sara, trust me, of all the dresses you've tried on, I'd have to say I think this one suits you the best."  
  
Sara studied the dress in the mirror. It was simple, yet elegant. There was nothing pretentious or frilly about it. Sara concluded that Chelsea was right, Nick would have some kind of reaction when he saw her in that dress. Sara let out a deep breath and glanced at Chelsea's reflection in the mirror. "Ok, I think this is it."  
  
Chelsea grinned. "Let's buy it before you change your mind."  
  
Sara chuckled softly. "I'm not going to change my mind. I'm pretty sure Nick's going to love this dress."  
  
"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure he's gonna be thinking about all the ways to get you out of that dress the entire time you're wearing it too." Chelsea quipped.  
  
Sara blushed faintly and smirked at Chelsea. "I think that's part of the idea, don't you?"  
  
Chelsea started laughing. "I knew the minute I met you that you were perfect for Nick."  
  
Sara's smirk turned into a smile. "Yes, you did. And if it hadn't been for you, I'm sure that Nick and I would still be tiptoeing around each other for at least three and half more years."  
  
"Always happy to help." Chelsea quipped.  
  
Sara let out a deep breath and faced her future sister in law. "Chelsea, I know I haven't known you very long and this is really short notice, but I was wondering if you would be my matron of honor."  
  
Chelsea's expression was at first a bit shocked and then changed to one of excitement as she pulled Sara into a hug. "Oh, I would be so honored, Sara."  
  
Sara chuckled softly as Chelsea stepped back. "I suppose we need to find you a dress then."  
  
"Oh, dear." Chelsea laughed softly.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Yeah, I understand." Nick sounded disappointed as he spoke into the phone.  
  
Grissom was on the other end of the line. "I'm sorry, Nicky, but the sheriff won't authorize all of us being gone. Giving Warrick the time off was difficult enough."  
  
Nick let out a deep breath. "I know, I just wish all of you could be here. You're like a second family to me."  
  
"I know, Nicky." Grissom was quiet for a moment.  
  
"Sara's going to be disappointed. I think she'd really like it if you could be here." Nick added softly.  
  
"If I could be there, I would. All of us would." Grissom assured him.  
  
"I know, Gris." Nick couldn't hide his disappointment that of all of his friends in Vegas, only Warrick was going to be able to come to the wedding.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Catherine breezed into Grissom's office without even looking up. "Ok, I think I figured it out."  
  
Grissom had a perplexed expression on his face. "What?"  
  
Catherine looked at him and furrowed her brow. "What's wrong?"  
  
Grissom let out sigh of disappointment. "I just got off the phone with Nick. I told him that the sheriff wasn't going to let the rest of us have the time off."  
  
Catherine raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You give up too easy." She sat down in the chair opposite him.  
  
"Catherine, I asked, Cavello said 'no'. It took quite a bit of negotiating as it was to convince him that Nick and Sara should be able to still work together even though they were getting married. I didn't want to push my luck." Grissom sounded a bit exasperated.  
  
Catherine's features spread into a smile. "Gil, I've got it figured out."  
  
Grissom did a double take. "What do you have figured out?"  
  
She grinned as she handed him an envelope. "We fly out after shift is over and we're back before it begins. We sleep on the plane. Even Cavello can't complain about that."  
  
Grissom looked into the envelope and his eyebrows went up in surprise as he realized the envelope contained an airline ticket. "Did you run this by him?"  
  
She had a mischievous glint in her eye. "Yes, I did. And, if for some reason our flight is late getting back, he agreed to keep the dayshift on until we get back."  
  
Grissom's mouth curled up in a half smile. "See, you're good with people."  
  
She smirked. "I know." She stood up from the chair and gestured toward the door. "Greg suggested that we try and keep it a secret and only tell Warrick that we're coming."  
  
Grissom raised an eyebrow. "Greg?"  
  
Catherine smiled. "You don't think you could keep Greg away from Nick and Sara's wedding do you?"  
  
Grissom shook his head in amusement. "No."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sara's excitement at having found a dress was tempered by Nick's expression when she walked in and found him staring at the floor in disappointment. She sat down on the couch next to him and put her hand on his knee. "Nick, what's wrong?"  
  
He let out a deep sigh as he looked at her. "I talked to Grissom a little while ago. Cavello won't let the rest of them have the time off, so only Warrick's going to be able to make it."  
  
Sara's face fell for a moment as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "I really wanted them to be here."  
  
"I know, I did too." Nick added. "I guess this is one of the consequences of getting married so quickly."  
  
"They'd be here if they could." Sara took his hand and laced her fingers with his.  
  
"I know." Nick smiled.  
  
They sat there for a few moments quietly before Sara's voice broke the silence. "I asked Chelsea to be my matron of honor."  
  
Nick looked at her with a slightly surprised smile on his face. "Wow."  
  
Sara smiled softly. "If it wasn't for her push, we might not be here like this."  
  
Nick chuckled softly. "Yeah, this is the one time I'm actually thankful for her interference."  
  
"I found a dress." Sara's voice had an edge of giddiness to it.  
  
Nick grinned. "When do I get to see it?"  
  
Sara laughed and shook her head. "Oh, no. It's in a very safe place and you don't get to see it until Saturday."  
  
"I can't wait until Saturday." Nick leaned toward her with an amused expression on his face.  
  
"I can't either." Sara grinned before leaning in and kissing him. 


	37. Chapter 37

"Are you sure that you're not going to tell me what it looks like?" Nick teased as he pinned Sara to the floor.  
  
She giggled. "No way. You're going to have to wait until Saturday."  
  
Nick leaned down and kissed her. As he pulled away he grinned. "What about now?"  
  
She shook her head. "You're going to have to do a whole lot better than that, baby."  
  
He waggled his eyebrows at her and leaned down and kissed her again, deepening it and doing a thorough exploration of her mouth with his tongue before pulling away. "Can you give me a little hint?"  
  
Sara smirked breathing heavily. "It's a dress, Nick." She pushed him off of her and rolled over onto her side, leaning in and kissing him.  
  
"I know it's a dress, but what does it look like." Nick murmured against her lips.  
  
"Uh, uh." Sara smiled against his lips and pushed him onto his back.  
  
Nick raised an eyebrow. "Is it sexy?"  
  
Sara chuckled and pulled herself onto his chest, leaning down and letting her lips hover a fraction of an inch from his. "Chelsea thinks that you'll want to get me out of it pretty fast."  
  
Nick closed his eyes and groaned, sliding his fingers into Sara's hair and pulling her into a searing kiss. When he finally released her, they were both a bit breathless.  
  
"Now that's a kiss." Sara grinned, her voice husky. She leaned down and kissed him again.  
  
Nick slid his arms around her waist. As they broke the kiss he looked at her hopefully. "Are you going to tell me now?"  
  
"You just won't give up, will you?" Sara pursed her lips in amusement.  
  
Nick shook his head, grinning. "Uh, uh. Not when I know what I want."  
  
Sara raised her eyebrow seductively. "I don't either."  
  
Nick looked amused. "Oh? And exactly what do you want?"  
  
She arched her brows and giggled. "I think you know."  
  
"Hmm." Nick tried to restrain a grin as he slid his hands down to her butt and pulled her astride him. "Are you going to tell me what it is?"  
  
Sara shook her head, having a difficult time not smiling as she leaned down and kissed him. Her hands began tugging his shirt out of his jeans.  
  
Nick slid one of his hands up the back of her shirt and then realized she wasn't wearing a bra. He let out a deep moan against her mouth and grabbed the hem of her shirt and began pulling it upward.  
  
Neither one of them noticed that the door to the apartment had open until Chelsea cleared her throat. "Sorry to interrupt."  
  
Nick and Sara pulled apart and glanced over toward the door where Chelsea stood with her back to them. Nick was mildly amused. "What do you need, Chels, uh, we're sort of busy here."  
  
Sara swatted at Nick as color rushed into her cheeks.  
  
"Ouch." Nick looked at Sara and tried not to laugh at her embarrassment.  
  
Chelsea was clearly amused by the tone of her voice. "Uh, your friend Warrick is on the phone."  
  
"Why didn't he call us on the line down here?" Nick queried.  
  
"Uh, he said he was getting a busy signal." Chelsea replied chuckling.  
  
Nick glanced over at the phone and noticed that it was off the hook and face down on the couch, realizing that he and Sara must have knocked it off when he wrestled her to the ground trying to get her to tell him about the dress. "Uh, it's off the hook."  
  
Sara righted her shirt and pulled herself off of Nick and walked over to where Chelsea was holding the cordless phone over her shoulder. "Thanks."  
  
Chelsea turned around and smirked. "You two might want to lock the door when you're in here so the kids don't walk in on you. I don't think I'm quite ready to explain the birds and the bees to Fiona yet."  
  
Sara blushed and took the phone. "Uh, hey, Warrick."  
  
Warrick was laughing. "I didn't interrupt anything did I?"  
  
Sara tried to ignore his comment and just smiled. "So when does your flight get in?"  
  
Warrick continued laughing. "So I did."  
  
Sara felt her cheeks burning a little as she asked the question again. "What was the flight number?"  
  
He chuckled. "I'm leaving right after shift, so I should be getting in around 11:00am. Oh, and I'm flying Delta."  
  
She smiled. "We'll pick you up at the airport." She glanced over at Nick who had pulled himself off of the floor and now had his hand extended. "Hey, Nick wants to talk to you."  
  
Nick took the phone from her hand and grinned as he spoke into the receiver. "Hey, man, I'm glad you're coming."  
  
"Wouldn't miss it." Warrick chuckled again. "So, I take it I interrupted you and Sara."  
  
Nick grinned at Sara as he talked. "Yes, you did."  
  
"She's embarrassed isn't she?" Warrick concluded.  
  
"Yes, she is." Nick continued grinning.  
  
"Do you need me to pick anything up at your house before I come out there?" Warrick queried.  
  
"Nah, I think I'm set." Nick replied. "So, Sara and I will pick you up at the airport and don't worry, we've got you set up for a place to stay."  
  
"Alright then. Hey, I've got to get to work. See you guys tomorrow. Uh, I'll let you and Sara get back to what you were doing." He sounded amused.  
  
Nick chuckled. "Later, man." He pushed the end button on the phone and handed it back to Chelsea who had been standing there the entire time. "You need something, Chels?"  
  
She smirked. "Mom and Dad wanted you to call them about the rehearsal dinner, but I'm sure they'd understand if I called back and let them know you were busy doing something else."  
  
Nick ran his fingers through his hair and smirked back. "I'll call."  
  
"Nick was just trying to get me to tell him what the dress looked like." Sara explained, turning a little red.  
  
Chelsea smiled in amusement. "Oh, I bet he was." 


	38. Chapter 38

Nick and Sara stood in baggage claim at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport waiting for Warrick. The monitor above the carrousel they stood near indicated that his flight was at the gate and was in the process of deplaning. Nick had his arms around Sara's shoulders and she had hers around his waist when Warrick finally arrived in baggage claim. A low chuckle alerted them to his presence and they turned toward him.  
  
Nick stepped toward his friend and shook his hand before pulling him into a manly hug, clapping him on the back. "Glad you're here man."  
  
"Glad to be here." Warrick noticed a distinct change in Sara's demeanor as she stepped toward him. She seemed more relaxed than the last time he'd seen her a week and a half before and he couldn't remember the last time he'd really seen her smile. "Sara, Texas agrees with you." He pulled her into a hug. "Or maybe it's Nick that agrees with you."  
  
"Warrick, I'm so glad you're here." Sara stepped out of Warrick's hug with a wide grin on her face.  
  
Nick just grinned. "Hey, let's grab your bags and get out of here. I can think of a few places a little more exciting than the airport."  
  
Warrick chuckled as he glanced at the pair. "Nick your twang's a little thick." He chuckled in amusement.  
  
Nick just shook his head and helped Warrick gather his bags before they headed out to the parking garage where they'd left Chelsea's minivan. As they opened the doors, Warrick started to laugh. Nick looked at him quizzically. "What is it, man?"  
  
Warrick glanced at Sara who also looked at him curiously before turning toward Nick. "Let's see, you've been gone a week and half and you're getting married and driving a minivan. All you need are a couple of kids and a golden retriever."  
  
Nick and Sara exchanged a glance, both of them with their eyebrows raised. They spoke at the same time. "We are never getting a minivan."  
  
Warrick just kept laughing. "I can't wait until Greg sees you two like this."  
  
Sara furrowed her brow for a moment. "I wish the rest of them could have come too."  
  
Warrick softened his expression and hugged her before they all climbed into the van. "Hey, they'd be here if they could. They want you to know that."  
  
"I know." Sara smiled softly.  
  
"Alright, you tired? Or do you want to see a little bit of Dallas?" Nick was grinning, happy to have the chance to show off where he'd grown up to his best friend.  
  
"I came straight from shift, give me a couple of hours and I'll be good to go, it's hard to sleep in coach with these legs." Warrick replied.  
  
"You need to work on sweet talking the ticket agents to get an upgrade to first class, man." Nick teased.  
  
Warrick raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think that Clark would be too susceptible to my charms."  
  
Sara couldn't help but laugh at the exchange.  
  
"Ok, man. You're staying with us. Well, you're staying at Chelsea and Kevin's anyway. We're staying downstairs and you've got the guest room." Nick informed him.  
  
Warrick let out a low chuckle. He just couldn't get over the transformation in his two friends in such a short period of time. "You know, you two threw everyone for a loop."  
  
Sara glanced at Warrick who sat in the backseat. "What is everyone at the lab saying?" She looked a little nervous. Nick glanced at Warrick in the rearview mirror.  
  
"Hey, it's all good. Grissom went to bat for you two with Cavello so you don't have to worry about not getting to work together." He informed them.  
  
Nick and Sara exchanged a glance. Sara's voice was almost a whisper. "I didn't even think about that."  
  
Nick nodded a bit solemnly. "I didn't either."  
  
"I mean I haven't even really thought about work since the day we took Fiona to the zoo." Sara observed.  
  
Nick and Warrick glanced at each other. This trip had definitely been good for Sara if it had gotten her mind off of work for that long.  
  
Sara looked back at Warrick. "What did Greg say when you told him?"  
  
Warrick chuckled. "Before or after he passed out?"  
  
"He didn't?" Sara's eyebrows shot up.  
  
Warrick shook his head. "No, he was cool. I told you, we all thought something was up when you decided to come down here with Nick." Warrick glanced over at Nick. "Hey, Nick, Greg wanted me to be sure and tell you that if you hurt Sara he'll kill you."  
  
Sara smirked as she looked over at Nick.  
  
"Oh, and someone started a rumor, actually it was Hodges, that the two of you have been secretly dating for a while and the only reason you're getting married is that Sara's pregnant." Warrick just shook his head.  
  
"I'll kill him." Sara sounded pissed.  
  
Nick glanced over at her and shook his head. "No, babe, I'll kill him."  
  
Warrick chuckled. "Hey, Grissom already read him the riot act."  
  
Sara gave Warrick a serious expression. "Just for the record, I'm not pregnant."  
  
"Never had a doubt any other way, Sara." Warrick smiled.  
  
Nick glanced at Warrick in the rearview mirror. "Hey, I should probably warn you that Chelsea will probably try and fix you up with one of her friends and that Conner or Fiona will probably wake you up with a staring contest. Fortunately, Conner's at school right now and Chelsea took Fiona out to buy a flower girl dress."  
  
Warrick looked at Sara quizzically. "What does he mean about the staring contest?"  
  
Sara smiled. "Oh, I've experienced it. There's nothing quite like waking up with a three year old inches from your face trying not to giggle."  
  
Warrick looked at Sara and then at Nick and just shook his head. "Wow, I still cannot believe you two are getting married."  
  
Nick chuckled. "Believe it, man. We even have a marriage license, and Sara has a dress she won't show me."  
  
"Do you want to see it, Warrick?" She glanced at Nick and smirked.  
  
"Hey, no fair." Nick whined.  
  
Sara giggled. "There's nothing that says that the best man can't see the dress, only that the groom can't see the dress."  
  
"Sara." Nick looked at her with a pout.  
  
She chuckled and gestured toward him as she glanced back at Warrick. "He's been doing this since I told him I got it."  
  
"And the image you've placed in my mind is killing me." Nick replied.  
  
Warrick couldn't help but laugh. "I'd love to see the dress, Sara."  
  
She grinned. "Oh, but you can't tell Nick what it looks like."  
  
"Sara." Nick's expression pleaded with her.  
  
She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. "Not till Saturday, baby." 


	39. Chapter 39

They pulled into the driveway of Chelsea and Kevin's home and as they unloaded Warrick's luggage and brought it into the house, he queried Nick. "So which one of you is giving up your place?"  
  
"Huh?" Nick looked confused and then as he glanced at Sara he realized that there was quite a bit that they hadn't talked about. Sara looked equally confused.  
  
An expression of concern mixed with amusement flickered across Warrick's face. "You two haven't even talked about it have you?"  
  
Nick looked a little sheepish. "I guess we haven't."  
  
Warrick just shook his head. "You know, you might want to sit down and figure out a few things before you actually get married." He glanced at Nick and then over at Sara. "What about kids? Do you want kids?"  
  
Sara didn't know what to say. The thought of having kids had never entered her mind, but then she hadn't ever really expected to get married either. She looked at Nick with confusion on her face.  
  
Warrick continued his inquiry. "All I can tell from what you two have said is that you're getting married Saturday and you never want to own a minivan. Don't you think you should have a few more things nailed down before you take the plunge?"  
  
Panic flickered across Sara's face as she really began to realize some of the implications of getting married and that it was more about real life than this fantasy world they'd been living in for the last week and a half. She looked at Warrick and then at Nick and fumbled with her words. "Uh, I'll be back in a few minutes." She wasn't sure where she was going, but ended up locking herself in the bathroom of the apartment and sitting on the floor with her back against the tub.  
  
Nick didn't know what to make of the situation. Warrick was right; things had moved at such hyper speed that they hadn't taken the time to talk about the things that would affect them day to day. From the expression on Sara's face, he concluded that Warrick's questions had brought reality straight to the surface and had scared the crap out of her.  
  
Warrick's brow furrowed as he watched Nick's face. "Hey, man, I'm not saying that I don't think you and Sara should get married, all I'm saying is you might want to talk about a few things first. I can tell that the two of you are in love with each other."  
  
Nick nodded and gestured in the direction that Sara disappeared. "I should probably go find Sara."  
  
Warrick smiled. "It's all good. I'm gonna catch a couple hours of sleep, just wake me up when you want to get going."  
  
"Thanks, man." Nick was grateful that Warrick was there. He may not have wanted to hear what Warrick had to say, but he knew that both he and Sara really needed to. He made his way down the stairs into the apartment and glanced around in search of Sara. He heard sniffling coming from the direction of the bathroom. He knocked gently on the door before trying the knob. "Hey, Sara, open the door."  
  
"I want to be alone, Nick." She sounded upset.  
  
"Babe, let's talk about this, ok?" Nick hoped he sounded calmer than he felt.  
  
"I'm scared, Nick." She confessed through the door.  
  
"I am too." Nick felt a knot forming in his stomach.  
  
She pulled herself up off the floor of the bathroom and unlocked the door, opening it to reveal a worried Nick. "You are?"  
  
He nodded at her. "Yeah, I am. But I love you, and I want to marry you."  
  
"Warrick's right, isn't he?" Sara knew that there were many things that they needed to talk about that up until a short time ago, she'd been able to ignore.  
  
He smiled at her and reached over and brushed a tear from her face. "Yeah, he's right, but it doesn't change the fact that I love you."  
  
She sniffled and tried to smile. "I love you too. I'm just scared that maybe we're doing this too fast. We haven't had time to see what it's like to be together in the real world."  
  
Nick put his hands on her shoulders, resting his forehead against hers. "Do you want to call off the wedding?"  
  
Sara looked like she was on the verge of crying again. "No, I'm just scared."  
  
Nick wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear. "We don't have to get married on Saturday, babe. We can wait as long as you want."  
  
"I want to marry you. I don't want to wait. I'm the one that wanted to elope, remember?" Sara sniffled against his chest.  
  
Nick chuckled. "I always knew you wanted me."  
  
Sara giggled and pulled away. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a very healthy ego?"  
  
Nick smiled as he leaned down and kissed her, looking into her eyes as he pulled away. "I guess we should talk about a few things, huh?"  
  
She nodded. "Yeah, I guess we should."  
  
They ended up lying curled up together in the middle of the bed in the bedroom. Nick's arms rested securely around Sara's waist and her head rested against his chest.  
  
"So where are we going to live?" Nick began.  
  
"Your place is bigger, but mine is closer to work." Sara replied offering the facts.  
  
"We could rent one of them out." Nick suggested.  
  
"Or we could sell them both and buy a new one." Sara suggested.  
  
Nick was quiet for a moment. "We should probably talk to a real estate agent. I mean, I've had my place for a while, but how much equity do you have in yours? If we sell too soon, it's going to take a loss."  
  
"Ok, so let's talk to a real estate agent then." Sara was quiet for a moment. "But we still haven't settled where we're going to live when we get back next week."  
  
Nick smiled. "Where would you rather stay?"  
  
"Nick, you're not making this easy." Sara had a hint of a whine in her voice.  
  
"Do you want me to just tell you where we're going to live because I have a feeling you wouldn't like that?" Nick observed gently.  
  
"No, I just don't want to decide this minute." Sara confessed. "There are things I really like about my condo, but I think it's probably too small for two people."  
  
Nick took a minute as he studied her face. "Ok, why don't we try this; we stay at my place and try and rent out your place until we find something we both like."  
  
Sara looked at him in surprise. "You'd sell your condo for me?"  
  
Nick chuckled. "Sara, you are way more important to me than a condo."  
  
She furrowed her brow. "I could sell mine."  
  
Nick chuckled. "Why don't we just talk to a real estate agent when we get back and see what our options are?"  
  
"Ok." She fingered the buttons on his shirt. "We can stay at your place."  
  
"Technically, it's going to be our place." Nick smiled.  
  
"I like the sound of that." Sara breathed a sigh.  
  
They were quiet for a while and then Nick broached another subject. "Sara?"  
  
"Yeah?" She replied, snuggling her body closer to his.  
  
"What about kids? Do you want kids?" Nick sounded tentative.  
  
Sara lifted her head and studied his face for a moment. "You want them, don't you?"  
  
"But what do you want?" Nick smiled at her and ran his fingers down the side of her cheek.  
  
She let out a sigh. "I don't know. I never really thought about it before to be honest, but then I never thought I'd be getting married either. I like kids; I've just never really been around them much."  
  
Nick looked into her eyes. "I think you'd be a great mom. I've seen how you are with Fiona."  
  
Sara smiled, somewhat surprised. "Do you think so?"  
  
He nodded. "I know so."  
  
Sara looked at him for a few minutes. "I'm not sure I'm ready to be a mom quite yet, Nick. Not that I'm ruling it out; I just need to think about it."  
  
He smiled at her. "We'll just have to make sure we use protection then."  
  
She giggled. "Maybe I should check into getting onto birth control, so we don't have to worry so much about that."  
  
Nick raised an eyebrow at her. "I think we've got enough protection to get us through at least another week."  
  
Sara rolled her eyes and quipped. "I think you got enough for the next month or so."  
  
Nick grinned at her and waggled his eyebrows. "It's all a matter of perspective, Sara." 


	40. Chapter 40

Nick and Sara lay there lost in thought. Sara wondered to herself how marrying Nick was going to affect her carefully constructed life, and she realized that she really didn't care how it would affect it, she only cared that she was with him. For so long, she'd remained behind the walls she'd built around her heart to keep people out so that she could remain in control, but all she'd gained from that was loneliness. Work had become her life and it just wasn't enough anymore. She wanted to build a life with Nick.  
  
Nick watched her as she lay in his arms, curious about what she was thinking, grateful and still amazed at the fact that she loved him. "Sara?"  
  
She lifted her head from his chest and smiled. "Yeah?"  
  
He couldn't help but traced the side of her face. "I am so lucky to have you in my life."  
  
Sara's face became serious. "I'm lucky to have you, Nick." She searched his face trying to find her words. "I'm so glad you were home that night."  
  
Nick studied her for a moment. "How are you doing about that case? About Susannah Kirkwood?"  
  
Her brow furrowed for a moment. "You know truthfully, I've hardly thought about her, or work since we got here. It's been really nice to have a break from life, I just hope I can go back and do my job."  
  
Nick stroked her hair. "You'll be ok." He looked at her with concern. "The hellish cases are the hardest, we all find ways to deal with them, we have to or we burn out. You're an amazing CSI, Sar; the victims need what you bring to their cases."  
  
She smiled. "Thanks." She was quiet for a moment and then bit her lower lip nervously as she looked into his eyes.  
  
Nick looked at her curiously.  
  
Sara played at the buttons on the front of his shirt. "I really thought about quitting that night. I've built my whole life around my career and I realized that it just wasn't enough any more." She let out a deep sigh. "I think that showing up on your doorstep that night sort of served as a catalyst to change the direction of my life. If I hadn't done that, I'm not sure I'd be here with you right now."  
  
Nick studied her carefully. "Are you still thinking about quitting?" His voice was soft and measured.  
  
She sighed. "I don't know, Nick. Right now, what I know for sure is that I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. My career doesn't seem so important to me right now. I feel like this last week and a half I've learned how to live again, and I'm not sure I want to lose that by losing myself in work."  
  
He smiled at her. "You know it is possible to do both."  
  
"You make it look so easy." She furrowed her brow.  
  
"You just need a distraction, like I told you before." He grinned at her. "And I'm happy to be that distraction." He started to tickle her.  
  
Sara let out a yelp and started to giggle. "Nick!"  
  
"See, I've distracted you already." He continued his assault on her sides as she squirmed on the bed next to him.  
  
"It tickles." She started whining in the midst of her giggles.  
  
"That's the general idea." Nick looked entirely pleased with himself as he grinned at her. He finally stilled his hands when he had her pinned to the bed.  
  
She smirked at him as he grinned down at her. "You know, if you want to make out, all you have to do is ask."  
  
"This is more fun." He chuckled as he leaned down and kissed her.  
  
Sara immediately opened her mouth to him and quickly allowed herself to get lost in the kiss. As they pulled away, she was breathing heavily.  
  
Nick grinned. "Feeling distracted yet?"  
  
She eyed his lips as she nodded. "Getting there." She leaned up and kissed him.  
  
Nick fingers began to unfasten the buttons on the front of her blouse as he explored her mouth with his tongue.  
  
As they broke the kiss, Sara began tugging his shirt out of his jeans, leaning up and kissing him again. "Did you lock the door?" Sara murmured against Nick's lips.  
  
"No one's home except Warrick." Nick murmured back, lowering the zipper on her jeans.  
  
"Nick, go lock the door." She was insistent as she pulled back breathing heavily.  
  
Nick rested his forehead against hers. "No one is going to walk in on us."  
  
Sara smirked. "Chelsea's already done it twice."  
  
He looked at her with a sheepish expression. "Can you do it, walking is going to be a little uncomfortable right now."  
  
She giggled. "Nice to know I have that affect on you." She leaned in and kissed him softly, zipping her jeans before pulling herself off of the bed. As she walked out to the door that separated the apartment from the rest of the house, she pulled her unbuttoned blouse closed with her hand. Just as she reached for the lock, someone knocked on the door. She stammered. "Uh, just a minute."  
  
"Hey, Sara, it's Warrick." There was something about the tone of his voice that told her he knew he'd interrupted something.  
  
She hastily buttoned her blouse and opened the door. "Hey, Warrick."  
  
Warrick grinned at her. "Unless I'm interrupting something, I think I'm ready to see Dallas."  
  
Nick emerged from the bedroom, part of his shirt still hanging out. "Uh, hey, man." He smiled.  
  
Warrick chuckled and rested his hands on his hips. "So, I take it you two found something to do while I was taking a nap."  
  
Nick avoided the topic and just grinned. "Ready to see the town, man?"  
  
Warrick nodded. "Alright." He glanced over at Sara and gestured not so subtly. "Uh, girl, you might want to fix your shirt, the buttons are off."  
  
Sara glanced down at her blouse and realized that when she'd buttoned it back up, she'd been in such a hurry that she'd buttoned them up one button off. Color infused her cheeks and she just smiled. "Nick's a dead man." 


	41. Chapter 41

To Sara, the rest of the week seemed to be a blur. By the time Saturday morning arrived, she was a picture of calm in contrast to just about everyone else.  
  
It seemed that just about everything that could go wrong did.  
  
The photographer that had been lined up broke his leg the day before the wedding in a water-skiing accident and at the last minute, Grace was able to locate someone else to fill in. The florist had the wrong date for the wedding marked on her schedule and, due in large part to Megan's finagling, she was able to get a bouquet for Sara in spite of it. When the bakery delivered the cake, the driver tripped and dropped one of the layers of the wedding cake. And Sara's parents missed their flight and didn't get in until midnight, the night before the wedding.  
  
At least they didn't have to worry about the pastor not showing up. Nick's uncle Mark was the one officiating the ceremony, and he lived next door to Nick's parents where the wedding was being held.  
  
In the midst of all of this and with just an hour and a half to go before the wedding, another crisis had developed.  
  
Warrick was missing.  
  
Nick was beside himself. He had arrived at his parent's ranch earlier that morning to get ready for the wedding which they were having on the back lawn near a large pond. Warrick was supposed to arrive with Kevin and Chelsea; however, they had shown up with only the kids in tow and they weren't giving much information on why he wasn't with them. With an hour to go before the wedding, Nick began to wonder if Warrick had second thoughts about standing up as his best man, when the man in question finally showed up.  
  
"Hey, man, where have you been?" Nick looked nearly panicked.  
  
Warrick chuckled as he stood in the doorway. "I had a little surprise I had to pick up for you and Sara before the wedding."  
  
Nick shook his head in disbelief. "We didn't need anything, we just wanted you here."  
  
Warrick stepped into the room and glanced at the open door. "Uh, this needed a little personal delivery." With that, Grissom, Catherine, and Greg stepped into view.  
  
Nick was utterly dumbfounded, when he finally found his words, they were mixed with tears. He pulled Catherine into a hug and his voice was thick with emotion. "I can't believe you guys are here. Has Sara seen you yet?"  
  
Greg grinned at Nick and Grissom's lips turned upward into a half smile. Catherine spoke for all of them as she stepped out of Nick's embrace. "We haven't seen Sara yet; Warrick thought you'd be close to having a heart attack if he didn't get his ass back here."  
  
Nick grinned and wiped at his eyes. "I can't believe you guys are here."  
  
"You have no idea how hard this was to keep a secret from you." Warrick chuckled. "I'm surprised no one in your family spilled it."  
  
Nick looked incredulous. "They all knew?"  
  
Warrick smiled. "Yeah, they did."  
  
Nick stammered as he looked at Grissom. "I thought you said you couldn't get the time off."  
  
Grissom smiled. "We didn't get the time off. Thanks to some creative thinking from Catherine, we left after shift and we'll arrive back in Vegas just before the next shift."  
  
Tears started to flow down Nick's cheeks again. "I'm so glad you guys are here. You have no idea how much this means to me." He wiped at his tears and smiled.  
  
Greg stepped forward and extended his hand, but Nick pulled him into a manly hug, clapping him on the back as Greg offered his congratulations. "Just remember, if you hurt Sara, you'll have me to answer to."  
  
Nick chuckled as he let Greg go. "I have no intention of hurting her."  
  
Grissom extended his hand to Nick and avoided being pulled into a hug by patting Nick on the shoulder. "Congratulations, Nick."  
  
"Thanks, Gris." Nick smiled.  
  
Catherine gestured toward the door. "We're going to go find Sara before the wedding. We'll see you later, Nick." She placed a kiss on his cheek before turning and heading out the door.  
  
"I'll be right back, man." Warrick headed off with the others in tow to locate Sara.  
  
Sara stood in front of a full length mirror, looking very much the part of a beautiful bride. Her silk gown suited her perfectly. The emerald cut crystals that ran down each side of the spaghetti strapped dress, added an elegance to the simple cut. She sat there chatting amiably with Chelsea as Fiona was throwing a temper tantrum in the middle of the floor because she'd been told that she couldn't carry Harley the kitten down the aisle.  
  
A soft knock sounded at the door and Sara and Chelsea both glanced in it's direction. Chelsea called out. "If you're name is Nick, you'll have to wait until the ceremony, otherwise, come in."  
  
Warrick poked his head in. "Hey, Sara, I've got a little surprise for you."  
  
"Uh, please tell me that my parents finally got here from the hotel." She'd spoken to them when they'd gotten in, but hadn't seen them yet.  
  
Warrick grinned. "They're both getting dressed according to Nick's mom."  
  
Sara smiled. "So what's the surprise?" She wrinkled her brow, noting that Warrick wasn't holding anything behind his back.  
  
Warrick opened the door a bit wider to reveal Catherine, Grissom, and Greg.  
  
Sara let out a squeal and jumped up, rushing over to the doorway and hugging each one of them in turn. "I can't believe you made it. Nick said you weren't coming. I wanted all of you here, but he said you couldn't get the time off. Oh, I'm so glad you're here." Unlike Nick, Sara was all smiles.  
  
Catherine looked at her incredulously. "Sara, you look amazing."  
  
Sara smiled and gestured toward Chelsea. "Chelsea helped me pick it out."  
  
By this time, Fiona had given up her temper tantrum and was looking at the three strangers curiously.  
  
Grissom and Greg both were speechless. Greg finally found his words. "Wow. Sara. Wow."  
  
Sara giggled. "I take it you like the dress, Greg."  
  
He just nodded and grinned appreciatively. "You look beautiful, but then, I've always thought you were beautiful."  
  
Sara and Catherine exchanged an amused glance before Sara turned back towards Greg. "Thanks."  
  
Grissom smiled at her. "Sara, you are a vision."  
  
She smiled back at him. "Thanks, Gris."  
  
Catherine gestured toward the doorway. "We should probably go get seated so you and Nick can get married." She was smiling widely at Sara.  
  
"I'm so glad you're all here. I can't believe it. Thank you for being here." Sara was literally gushing.  
  
Before they headed out of the room, Catherine pulled Sara into another hug. "Love looks good on you, Sara."  
  
"Thanks, Catherine." Sara beamed as they all turned and left, leaving her Chelsea and Fiona in the room.  
  
Chelsea grinned at Sara and gestured in the direction everyone had just left. "Based on the reaction those men had to you in that dress, I'd say Nick's a goner." 


	42. Chapter 42

In the end, images of the day were what stood out to Nick and Sara. For Nick, it was the image of Sara standing at the end of the aisle on her father's arm waiting to walk up and join him. That dress took his breath away and tears began to form in his eyes as she made her way up the aisle. He cried through the entire ceremony, his eyes never leaving hers as he smiled at her through his tears.  
  
Sara grinned at him. The tears in his eyes were a beautiful gift to her of his raw emotion toward her. She found herself reaching over and brushing the tears from his face from time to time, almost completely oblivious to what Nick's uncle was saying as he led them through the ceremony. It wasn't until they were pronounced husband and wife and Nick kissed her that she tasted her own tears mingling with his. She was sure that she'd never been happier.  
  
They were vaguely aware that there were other people there as they shared their first dance, and for the life of her, Sara couldn't remember who had caught the bouquet or the garter. Before the wedding, she had threatened Nick within an inch of his life if he dared to smash cake in her face, and being the smart man that he was, he fed it to her gently.  
  
It wasn't until they were in a limousine heading toward an historic luxury hotel that Nick's siblings had all chipped in for their honeymoon, that it finally sank in that they were married. Sara rested against Nick, staring at their wedding rings, the same rings that Nick's grandparents had worn for over 60 years as a symbol of the commitment between them.  
  
They entered the bridal suite and just stood there for a moment as the bell man placed their luggage inside the doorway and quietly exited, putting a 'do not disturb' sign on the outside of the door.  
  
Nick grinned at Sara. "We're married."  
  
She giggled. "I know."  
  
Nick felt tears forming in his eyes again. "I love you so much, Sara."  
  
Sara stepped toward him and brushed the tears away. "I know. I love you too."  
  
Nick tentatively touched her cheek, searching her eyes as he leaned in and gently kissed her. As he pulled away, he found her smiling and he took her hand, leading her toward the double doors separating the sitting area of the suite from the bedroom.  
  
Nick shrugged his jacket off of his shoulders as he closed the door behind him.  
  
Sara stepped toward him with a smirk on her face, reaching up and unfastening his bow tie. "Did you lock the door?"  
  
He chuckled. "I think the bell man took care of that for us."  
  
She raised an eyebrow. "You're sure, because, I'm really not in the mood to be interrupted."  
  
He looked mildly amused. "Do you want me to go check?"  
  
She tried to restrain her smile. "It might be a good idea."  
  
Nick chuckled. "Since you insist."  
  
Sara leaned up and kissed him softly, smiling as she pulled back. "I insist."  
  
Nick returned a few moments later minus his shoes, socks, and tie. "All taken care of. No one should be able to interrupt us."  
  
Sara grinned mischievously. "Good, because I've been wanting to do this to you since I bought this dress." While Nick had been checking on the door, she had unzipped her dress. A wide eyed Nick watched as she fingered the spaghetti straps on her gown, pulling them off her shoulders as she let the dress drop to the ground. She stood there in nothing but her birthday suit.  
  
Nick's jaw slowly closed and he began to smile as he looked at her appreciatively. "I think I'm a little overdressed."  
  
Sara smirked. "I would say so." She stepped toward him and began to unbutton his shirt only to be stopped by Nick as he crushed her against him and placed a searing kiss on her mouth.  
  
They slowly made their way to the bed, stopping to help Nick discard an article of clothing here and there and to trade deep passionate kisses, finally tumbling onto the bed where they gave themselves up to each other.  
  
Much later, they lay in each others arms enjoying the sensation of being together, knowing that they had a lifetime ahead of them to be together.  
  
Sara looked into Nick's eyes and smiled. "Life is crazy. I never would have thought I could be this happy if I just stopped trying to be in control and let things happen."  
  
Nick grinned at her. "And I wouldn't trade the craziness of life for anything. It brought me you." He leaned toward her and whispered before he kissed her. "To la vida loca."  
  
~ The End ~  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Note: Thanks to each and every person who took the time to review this story. I had no idea that it would get such a great response. This is one of those stories that sort of took over and wrote itself. Several portions of this story were taken from actual events in the lives of people that I know. The story about how Nick's grandparents got together is a true story of a couple that I know that have been married for 60 some years. The story of Chelsea and Kevin is based on the story of three sets of my friends that were in deep denial about their feelings for each other as 'just friends' who have all been happily married now for some time. And even the boxer wedgie story is taken from something a friend 'overshared' with me.  
  
Just a note to the two people who felt this story had gone on long enough, if you were bored in chapter two, I'm surprised you stuck around for chapter 39, unless of course it's the whole Nick and Sara thing that you have a problem with. Remember, no one is forcing you to read this. 


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